The turtle population of India is under threat because Bengal will not stop consumption of turtle meat. The charge was levelled at a meet by officials of the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) on Tuesday. "Freshwater turtles have become extinct in Bengal in the past 10 years. Now, every turtle consignment seized elsewhere is headed here,' says Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of WSO and a member of the government's National Board for Wildlife. The NGO works for the preservation of freshwater turtles in the Mahanadi basin. In Mohanty's estimate, two to three quintals of turtles are transported out of Orissa every week. "Mind you, I am speaking only of the Mahanadi basin. The number will be more if we take into account the turtle population in the other rivers.' Poaching takes place round the year, except in monsoon. He points out that poaching has been reported in Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and even Punjab