Bhubaneswar, June 17 (UNI) Odisha has set an example for the world in crocodile conservation, State Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganeshram Singkhuntia said on Tuesday.

“The challenge before us is to make Odisha’s crocodile‑conservation programme as successful as possible while safeguarding the ecological balance of our wetlands,” the Minister said in a message marking International Crocodile Day and the 50th anniversary of the Crocodile Conservation Project in Odisha, organised by the State Wildlife Headquarters.

Odisha is home to all three crocodile species found in India—the salt‑water crocodile (baula), the mugger and the gharial.

“For the past 50 years our state has been setting a global benchmark in conserving these keystone species, which play a special role in maintaining healthy wetlands,” Singkhuntia said.

Crocodiles are integral to the food chain, helping to keep waterbodies clean by removing carrion and thus supporting natural biodiversity.

As flagships for eco‑tourism, they also provide direct and indirect livelihoods to local communities.

“Crocodile conservation is therefore not merely about saving a single animal; it symbolises the protection of our rivers, waterbodies and entire ecosystem,” he added, urging citizens to turn conservation into a mass movement.

Additional Chief Secretary (Forest, Environment and Climate Change) Satyabrata Sahu said

the state was celebrating “50 years of a unique and glorious journey in nature conservation”.

Crocodiles, he noted, are crucial to the ecological balance of rivers, lakes and mangroves,

and their preservation is closely tied to Odisha’s cultural pride and human values.

Odisha is the only Indian state where all three crocodile species survive in their natural habitats.

Fifty years ago, all three were close to extinction.

In 1975 the state launched an ambitious project with support from the Government of India and the United Nations. Since then the number of salt‑water crocodiles in the Bhitarkanika mangroves has risen from 96 to 1,880, while natural breeding has increased the gharial population in the Satkosia Gorge of the Mahanadi to 16.

Local residents have been engaged as “Crocodile Friends”, and a reward of Rs.1,000 is offered for safely returning hatchlings caught in fishing nets. The freshwater mugger, once threatened by loss of prey and habitat, has also rebounded; this year’s census recorded more than 200 mugger crocodiles.

Sahu credited scientists, forest‑department staff who “worked day and night, often at personal risk”, and local communities “whose cooperation, dedication and traditional knowledge made this success possible”.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force Suresh Panth warned that the growing crocodile population brings new challenges: shrinking habitat and loss of spawning grounds have increased human–crocodile conflict.



Enclosures and safe bathing ghats have been built and compensation is provided to victims, but, he said, “widespread public awareness” remains essential.

Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Vice‑Chancellor Pravat Kumar Raul proposed establishing an academic centre for wildlife research and conservation on the OUAT campus. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha called the project’s 50‑year milestone “a glorious chapter in Indian wildlife conservation”.

At the function Sahu released a documentary, a book on gharials, a brochure marking 50 years of crocodile conservation, and an interim report on gharial recovery in the Mahanadi.

Crocodile experts Dr Lala Ashwini Kumar Singh (gharial), Dr Sudhakar Kar (salt‑water crocodile) and Prof Dr Sudarshan Maharana (gharial) were honoured for their lifelong contributions.

A national workshop on crocodiles will be held in Bhubaneswar on June 18, with scientists, researchers, NGOs and forest officers from across India in attendance. From June 17 to 25 a week‑long conservation and awareness drive—including mobile exhibitions, cycle rallies and

wall paintings—will run in all crocodile‑range divisions, notably Mangrove, Satkosia, Similipal

(North and South), Berhampur and Nandankanan.

UNI DP BM