Velas is a small village on the Maharashtra coast line, about 240 km south of Navi Mumbai, in the Mandangad Taluka which is south of Shrivardhan Taluka and north of Dapoli Taluka. The people of the village rely on agriculture (rice, mango, beetle nut) for their daily living.
The village has taken up the task of lending a helping hand to the conservation of olive ridley turtles. The village has set up a group of people – Kasav Mitra Mandal to channelize the conservation effort of the village.
The members –
- Scan the beach at night (November to March) for eggs laid by the turtles.
- Protect the eggs from predators in an enclosure on the beach that supports hatching in the same natural environment.
- Monitor hatchings (which take about 60 days to hatch) on a regular basis – 700 hrs in the morning and 1730 hrs in the evening.
- Safely release the hatchlings in the sea (January to May).
- Organize various events to educate people.
The rest of the village acts as a support system by providing basic accommodation and food to people visiting Velas.
Captains Log; Star Date 2303.2013
Moved after an early lunch. Took the route as suggested by the Mandal’s website. Improvised on the New Bombay to NH-17, Nagothane section to avoid Pen and Vadakal Naka where traffic tends to be bad.
The 240 Km, 6 hour run takes us through – Khopoli – Pali – Nagothane – Mangaon – Mahad – (left turn for SH 70 just after the Savitri River Bridge Toll) – Mandangad – Veshvi – Bankot – Velas. Sections between Mandangad and Velas are rough. Though the Veshvi – Bankot – Velas stretch is senic as it runs parallel to the Savitri river creek and the sea.
The village houses rent out the main hall along with mattresses to groups. Few houses have separate rooms, which tend to get booked early. Toilets, however are common.
The houses offering accommodation to visitors are listed on the Mandal’s website. As quite a few people, generally in large groups, end up visiting Velas over a weekend, it makes sense to tie up accommodation beforehand.
The lady of the house, helped by others in the household, cooks up a decent spread. For Dinner, the Sakpal’s served roti, rice, jackfruit vegetable, some spicy curry and surmai fry. The prawn curry was super.
Captains Log; Star Date 2403.2013
Get out at 600 hrs, as the nest is checked for hatchlings at 700 hrs. The beach is about 2 km south of the village. A path just after the bridge leads to the beach. An entry fee of Rs. 50/- per individual is charged by the Mandal.
Today there are about 150 people on the beach, including about 80 from Tata Consultancy (TCS), which incidentally supports the Mandal in its turtle conservation effort.
Everybody crowds around the nest as the Mandal Members enter the nest to check for hatchlings. The crowd gets pretty charged up as soon as hatchlings are sighted. We’re lucky to have 14 hatchlings today.
Tea and poha for breakfast.
Try out another route via Harihareshwar for the return. The ferry across the creek from Veshvi to Bagmandala costs Rs. 100/- and is fun. The roads too are better this side.
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| GPS at Sea! |
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| The Suvarnadurga Ferry (Phone 02350 223300) |
The route runs through Bankot – Veshvi – ferry to Bagmandala – Harihareshwar – Mhasala – Goregaon – Mangaon – Nagothane – Pali – Mumbai-Pune Express way – Navi Mumbai.
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| White Bellied Sea Eagle |
