Dwindling number of dolphins in the Ganges near Kolkata indicator of poor health of the river

Findings of a WWF India project on dolphins, presented at a meet in Kolkata indicated that the poor health of the Ganges near the city was responsible for Bengal's dwindling dolphin population. Dolphins could be seen from the Howrah bridge even in the 1960s and the decline began with the building of Farakka barrage. Additionally, excessive pollution has compounded the problem.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 16 March 2016.

It was revealed that nearly two-thirds of the Ganga in Bengal, especially the stretch in and near Calcutta, is so polluted that biodiversity has taken a hit. Studies carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board has shown that the river near the city is the most polluted stretch in the country. The main culprits are industrial effluent and domestic waste.
The major interference in dolphin habitat are bridges, dams, soil erosion and excessive pollution. It was also pointed out that dolphins nowadays are hardly seen even in the Sunderbans - this can be considered as a pointer to how pollution in the Ganga in Bengal has affected the biodiversity of the body of water.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Stretch of Hoogly to be developed as a Ganges River dolphin reserve

The Ganges river dolphin is considered to be the national aquatic animal of India and, it would get more protection in Bengal because a stretch of the Hoogly River between Malda and Sagar is planned to be developed as a dolphin community reserve.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 3 October 2015.

Bengal is home to the Irrawaddy dolphin and the Ganges river dolphin and, while the habitat of the Irrawaddy dolphins is comparatively protected being a part of the Sunderbans, the same is not done for the Ganga river dolphin. Hence, the focus on Hooghly and the Ganges river dolphin.
The state chief wildlife warden has indicated that the proposal would be placed for approval at the tenth meeting of the state wildlife board at Nabanna on October 8.
The importance of this is that the dolphin is a sort of bio-monitoring tool of river health and, therefore, the conservation of the Ganges river dolphin will also ensure protection of the ecology of river Hooghly.
The prime threat to the species is loss of habitat as a result of irrigation projects and pollution. The Ganges river dolphins are found in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
It had been declared as the national aquatic animal of India in 2010 and, as revealed by sources, there are less than 2,000 such dolphins left in the country.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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