Rare dolphins get a sanctuary at last

KOLKATA: A foreign agency has had to step in to advise the state government of the significance of an endangered species trying to battle for survival right within the city limits. The ‘foreign coaching’ has had its effect; the state government has drawn up a plan to preserve and set up a sanctuary of riverine dolphins in Gangetic West Bengal.
“The training of officials and employees — on how to track down and preserve the dolphins — has just been completed.Earlier, our officials had little idea about the dolphins found in the Hooghly,� chief conservator of forests Atanu Raha said.
A census would be conducted in December, using the satellite-based GIS system and the traditional method based on sightings, Raha said. This time, the training was conducted by two experts from Orissa who have done a similar survey in the Bhitarkanika National Park. Officials from Bangladesh who had been doing the survey in their riverine system will also provide necessary expertise.
Bangladesh will also lend a helping hand as they have been involved in dolphin conservation in Padma for quite sometime now. “Experts from our country will visit Bangladesh before the project is launched,� said UNDP assistant resident representative Shireen Kamal Sayeed. “According to the sightings, it appears that there are a good number of dolphins in the Hooghly. But there is no central data or a sanctuary as yet. We will use the GIS system to track the animals,� Raha said. The plan will then be drawn up to set up a dolphin sanctuary.