VISAKHAPATNAM: The Srikurmam temple in Srikakulam, which is the only temple in south India dedicated to the Kurmam (tortoise) avatar of Lord Vishnu, may have created a record of sorts with the captive breeding of 55 star tortoise hatchlings in 2014, but this year the number of hatchlings has come down to 24 due to a number of environmental and man-made factors, including mass mortality of hatchlings due to infections and poor maintenance.The temple is said to be the only conservation centre of the protected species of star tortoises . These herbivores are found in the nearby foothills and fields of Srikakulam and are offered by devotees to the temple.Situated at a distance of about 130 km from Visakhapatnam in Gara mandal of Srikakulam is the ancient Sri Kurmam temple . This all-stone structure has 108 eksila (single-stone) pillars. The deity of kurmam is made of black stone but looks yellow as it's coated with sandalwood paste.Today, the temple shelters 255 of these protected tortoises. However, the tortoises don't look clean and healthy. In the temple premises is an enclosure where the star tortoises — both the adult and young ones as well as the hatchlings are kept. Devotees feed them gongura leaves as a token of respect for the Kurmam avatar.These star tortoises are the responsibility of both the endowments department as well as NGO Green Mercy, which was roped in for conservation of tortoises in 2013. Green Mercy executive director KV Ramana Murthy, who is also the curator of the Star Tortoise Conservation Centre at Sri Kurmam Temple, pointed out that moved by the pitiable condition of the tortoises, who weren't fed properly and left without an enclosure making them easy prey for poachers and dogs, they had approached the forest department for help and also wrote to the chief wildlife warden a couple of years ago."The forest department responded and wanted to take care of them or release them into the wild. But meanwhile, some devotees and religious organisations filed a case and kept pressurising us to withdraw the complaint. They also got a stay order from the high court that said the tortoises shouldn't be moved from their temple enclosure. The high court, on the condition that the temple authorities provide a habitat, balanced diet, medical care and proper enclosure for these animals, allowed the temple to keep the tortoises."However, the conservation and maintenance of these endangered species has been fraught with problems. As per an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the endowments department and NGO Green Mercy, Rs 24,000 is given by the endowments department per month for maintenance, feed and overall care of the 255 tortoises (around Rs 10 per tortoise), which seems quite inadequate."At least Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 is required and we try to supplement this amount from our funds. We also target an increase in the number of hatchlings every year but several babies are dying due to viral infections and contracting diseases from adult tortoises as they are all kept in the same enclosure. Besides, the destruction unleashed by cyclone Hudhud damaged the enclosure and torrential rains led to a lower number of hatchlings this year.""The delicate hatchlings need more intensive care and should be kept in incubators for about three months or they should be placed in a separate enclosure, if not safely rehabilitated into the wild. However, due to the stay order from the high court, the baby tortoises aren't separated or released from their enclosures even though the stay order holds good only for the adult tortoises, which are born before 2013," added Murthy.Added to the litigation are other problems of manpower and revenue, as per temple authorities. Srikurmam Temple endowment officer V Syamala Devi said, "Once the stay order is vacated, we can shift the tortoises to a separate enclosure or hand them over to the forest department for releasing in the wild. Manpower shortage is a major hurdle to their upkeep. As of now, we have just three caretakers for the 255 tortoises and we need at least five or six caretakers. Besides, our annual revenue ranges from Rs 40-45 lakh, from which we have to manage the salaries of staff, maintenance of the temple, prasadam distribution and upkeep of the 255 tortoises. Though the cost of the temple entry ticket is Rs 10, locals often enter without purchasing tickets, causing loss of revenue."According to temple priest Krishnamachari, the temple, which is under the trusteeship of the Gajapathi Rajus of Vizianagaram, draws maximum crowds during the festival of Holi in March when people from Odisha and neighbouring districts throng the temple in thousands. "On weekdays, around 100 and on weekends around 300-500 devotees frequent the temple for the Lord's darshan. Being a Vaishnavite temple, it is popular among Tamilians too," he said.