MUMBAI: For the first time in two decades, at least 80 newly hatched Olive ridley turtles were spotted at Versova beach on Thursday morning, waddling towards the sea.Environmentalists attributed the “happy phenomenon” to the sustained efforts by lawyer-activist Afroz Shah and his team over 127 weeks to clean Versova beach.“This is indeed very good news for our Versova beach. The 80 Olive ridley turtles hatched in the morning and made a dash towards the sea,” said Shah. “Earlier, this beach was very dirty, with piles of plastic trash. No sea turtles were hatching here as garbage is a huge hurdle for them to cross. But now, thanks to the Clean Versova Beach drive, we are all happy and blessed to have seen these newly hatched Olive ridley turtles.”Clean-up activists and animal welfare groups together ensured that the little turtles navigated their way into the sea safely, from the hatching site, which was 30-35m from the shoreline.As news of the newly hatched turtles spread, morning walkers and locals thronged the beach to enjoy the experience.Social networking sites, including Twitters, were also abuzz with photographs and videos of the newly hatched turtles. “I have witnessed something surreal today. A life changing experience. 80 Olive Ridley turtles walking back into the sea,” tweeted Shaunak Modi of Marine Life of Mumbai, a group promoting marine life welfare in the city.State chief conservator of forests (mangroves cell) N Vasudevan said the department was happy to see the photographs and videos of the turtles on Versova beach. He, however, said: “Some locals, who later went to the beach, informed my department that they could not find any egg shells. I do not know if their doubts are real or not, but if we get any formal intimation on it, I will have to inquire into the matter.”Shah added that a Mumbai-based forest official also came to the beach in the afternoon to do a panchanama after being informed about turtle hatchings. “For the last few weeks, we had been noticing turtles coming up to the Versova beach and digging into the sand, near Sagar Kutir wadi end. We had also contacted a marine biologist to learn more about it and are today happy that so many turtles hatched,” Shah told TOI.Environmentalist D Stalin said: “This is a very good development at the cleaned up Versova beach. However, care should be taken that the lights at the beach are made dimmer and the area cordoned off till the nesting period is fully over, as human poachers are a threat for these turtles. Also, bright lights may confuse the young hatchlings.”The return of turtles has brought cheer among marine biologists who lament that nearly 80-90% of beaches in Maharashtra have been damaged to such an extent that it becomes unfavourable for Olive ridley turtles to lay their eggs.“While today is certainly a day of celebration since Olive ridley turtles nesting and hatchings have been seen after a very long time period, I cannot help but think of so many other beaches which have been damaged and destroyed due to encroachments and other illegal activities which make it impossible for these sea turtles to step on for their natural nesting,” pointed out Dr Deepak Apte, marine biologist and head of Bombay Natural History Society.Barely 30- 35 isolated beaches on the Konkan coast are currently hosting their nesting. “The females lay their eggs above the high tide line, in a sandy shore. How many such sandy shores are really there? Often people illegally steal sand or put up hawking stalls on beaches.”He, however, added that it is commendable that consistent efforts by the citizens to clean Versova beach have led to this rare turtle nesting site there.