Biggest sand turtle with plastic bottles for World Environment Day

Bhubaneswar: Internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created the world’s ‘biggest’ sand turtle with the installation of plastic bottles at Odisha’s Puri beach on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Pattnaik has created a sand sculpture of a turtle by using plastic bottles on it with the message “Beat plastic pollution”.

He has created a 55 ft long 30ft wide sand sculpture of turtle by using about 30 tons of sand with some colour sand. Students of his sand art institution joined hand with him to complete this sculpture.

“Each World Environment Day is organized around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern. The theme for 2018, “Beat Plastic Pollution,” is a call to action for all of us to come together to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time,” said Sudarsan.

Odisha is famous for Olive ridley turtles. Every year they came here for mass nesting.

“The art showcased the unfortunate plight of the turtles that die each year from ocean pollution as they mistake plastics and other garbage as food. This mistake causes blockages within their digestive system and eventually takes their life. So we spread this awareness through my sand sculpture,” said Sudarsan Pattnaik.

So far, Padma Shri awardee sand artist Sudarsan has participated in more than 60 international sand sculpture championships and festivals around the world and won many prizes for the country.

He always tries to spread awareness through his unique art forms.