Vishwamitri Flood Mitigation Project Saves 410 Crocodile, Turtle, and Bird Eggs in Vadodara

Between April and June this year, the banks of the Vishwamitri River in Vadodara became the stage for a delicate balancing act as authorities undertook massive dredging to prevent future floods while simultaneously working to preserve the river’s rich and fragile biodiversity.

Engineering meets ecology on the Vishwamitri River

Dr Ranjitsinh Devkar, Assistant Professor of Zoology at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, is spearheading this unprecedented operation. He led a team of volunteers in a conservation initiative integrated into the Rs 1,200-crore Vishwamitri Flood Mitigation Project.

While the physical dredging was undertaken by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and the Narmada Water Resources and Water Supply Department, the environmental component was supervised by a committee of experts appointed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), including Dr Devkar.

Years of illegal dumping and encroachments had drastically reduced the Vishwamitri’s flow capacity, leading to recurrent floods in Vadodara. Following severe flooding in August last year, the state government, under SHRC directions, revived the long-delayed mitigation plan, first proposed in 2008, with renewed focus on biodiversity protection.

According to the committee’s report, as cited by The Indian Express, the river’s riparian zone is a biodiversity hotspot. It supports a wide range of species, including insects, molluscs, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals like porcupines and jackals. 

Most significantly, the river is home to approximately 440 crocodiles across a 25-kilometre stretch, according to a February census by the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation and the forest department.

With the flood-control work overlapping the breeding season of key species, conservation had to proceed hand-in-hand with engineering.

Rescuing life before the machines roll in

Each morning before excavators arrived, Dr Devkar’s team scanned the riverbanks for nests. Crocodiles and turtles lay eggs in dug-out soil, while red-wattled lapwings, known for their well-camouflaged ground nests, required expert tracking. Locating these eggs took patience, observation, and trained eyes.

Initially, eggs were relocated to safer areas nearby. Between 26 March and 7 June, 410 eggs, including 88 crocodile, 284 turtle, and 38 bird eggs, were transferred to Vadodara’s Sayaji Baug Zoo for incubation.

This project, described by The Indian Express as a first of its kind, involved extreme care in egg handling. Reptile eggs, in particular, cannot be rotated or repositioned without risking the embryo’s survival. Volunteers photographed the eggs before transport to help zoo staff replicate their exact orientation in incubation.

From hatchery to riverbank: A measured success

At the zoo, bird eggs were incubated in brooding chambers, but reptile eggs required specially designed nest boxes filled with soil to mimic natural conditions. Maintaining humidity and temperature was crucial. 

In reptiles, gender is determined by incubation temperature — 29.5°C yields a near-equal male-to-female ratio. Any variation could drastically alter hatchling demographics.

The zoo’s veterinary team operated within a strictly controlled hatchery to avoid contamination. Despite careful procedures, 34 crocodile eggs and 126 turtle eggs were found damaged on arrival. Still, the results were promising.

By late July, 16 crocodile hatchlings, 26 turtles, and 20 red-wattled lapwing chicks successfully emerged. All were released into the same stretches of the river from which they were rescued, completing a full circle from protection to rewilding.

As The Indian Express highlighted, this initiative demonstrated that ecological sensitivity need not hinder development. Instead, it proved that with thoughtful integration, science and infrastructure can work in harmony.

Edited by Vidya Gowri 

Source:

‘As a river flows again, crocodiles and turtles get a second chance at life’: by Aditi Raja for The Indian Express, Published on 25 September 2025.