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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West Bengal to market the Sunderbans as a tourist hub – not only tigers

In an effort to woo tourists, West Bengal is hoping that the Sunderbans would attract tourists because the Sunderbans is not only about Royal Bengal tigers but also about the world's largest mangrove forest. The focus is shifting from the tiger to the lesser highlighted strengths of the Sunderbans. Tigers can easily be seen at Tiger Reserves in Ranthambore, Pench, Bandavgarh or Tadoba.
This is reported in telegraphindia.com dated 2 February 2016.

AS admitted by the joint director of Bengal tourism, most tourists come to the Sunderbans to see a tiger, only to realize that the terrain is very difficult and not like in other popular tiger sanctuaries. Therefore,plans are afoot to offer other attractions of the Sunderbans to the tourists. These would include - the mangrove forest, the local community and their lives, the rich flora and fauna.
Setting eyes on a tiger here is more about luck than effort because the sanctuary can be toured only by boat. One drawback is that there is no jeep or elephant safari to take tourists right into the tiger's lair. Incidentally, most tourists drop in on the Sunderbans for two to three days and it is not feasible to cover this whole area by boat within such a short span.
Among other attractions are the Saltwater Crocodile - the male of the species measures between four and five metres in length and weighs 400 to 1,000kg and is believed to be the largest of all living reptiles in the world. Then there is the Irrawaddy Dolphin apart from seven types of kingfishers and the endemic Masked Finfoot.


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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