Patna, Nov 14 (IANS) Alarmed over the dwindling number of rare river dolphins in the Ganges due to pollution, the Bihar government plans to initiate measures to save the aquatic species and also make efforts to conserve the river.
'The state government would do its best to get the river dolphin declared as a national aquatic animal to save it from imminent threat,' Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here while interacting with experts in the first world meet on Ganges Monday night.
Nearly 100 experts from across the world attended the meet entitled 'Majestic River Ganges - Health, Integrity and Management'.
He also asked the state Chief Wildlife Conservationist Murari G. Mishra to apprise the government about the current condition of the river dolphins.
Warned R.K. Sinha, an expert on dolphins: 'If we fail to save the dolphins, future generations may see the mammal only in photographs.'
The rare river dolphins will disappear unless urgent steps are taken to clean up the Ganges, according to Sinha, head of zoology department at Patna University.
A rapidly shrinking Ganges, which Hindus consider holy, and the river's changing course are the other factors threatening the dolphins, said Sinha, who also heads the central government's dolphin conservation project.
The Ganges has already shifted its natural course near Patna. It now flows over two kilometres away from the city, thanks to silting and pollution.
Researchers estimate the dolphin population across India to be a little over 1,500. Half of these are found in the Ganges in Bihar. The numbers have dropped drastically over the past decades. In the 1980s, the Gangetic delta zone alone had around 3,500 dolphins.
In 1996, freshwater dolphins - locally known as 'sons of the river' - were categorised as endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a forum of conservationists, NGOs and government agencies.
The river is highly polluted by the time it reaches Patna, some 1,700 km downstream from its source. In places like Patna, the Ganges has also seen heavy silt deposits.
'The state government would do its best to get the river dolphin declared as a national aquatic animal to save it from imminent threat,' Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here while interacting with experts in the first world meet on Ganges Monday night.
Nearly 100 experts from across the world attended the meet entitled 'Majestic River Ganges - Health, Integrity and Management'.
He also asked the state Chief Wildlife Conservationist Murari G. Mishra to apprise the government about the current condition of the river dolphins.
Warned R.K. Sinha, an expert on dolphins: 'If we fail to save the dolphins, future generations may see the mammal only in photographs.'
The rare river dolphins will disappear unless urgent steps are taken to clean up the Ganges, according to Sinha, head of zoology department at Patna University.
A rapidly shrinking Ganges, which Hindus consider holy, and the river's changing course are the other factors threatening the dolphins, said Sinha, who also heads the central government's dolphin conservation project.
The Ganges has already shifted its natural course near Patna. It now flows over two kilometres away from the city, thanks to silting and pollution.
Researchers estimate the dolphin population across India to be a little over 1,500. Half of these are found in the Ganges in Bihar. The numbers have dropped drastically over the past decades. In the 1980s, the Gangetic delta zone alone had around 3,500 dolphins.
In 1996, freshwater dolphins - locally known as 'sons of the river' - were categorised as endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a forum of conservationists, NGOs and government agencies.
The river is highly polluted by the time it reaches Patna, some 1,700 km downstream from its source. In places like Patna, the Ganges has also seen heavy silt deposits.
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