Concern over killing of Ganga dolphins

PATNA: The killing of four Ganga dolphins in Patna has left environmentalists frustrated.“The killing took place during broad daylight. The culprits were photographed. Yet no action has been taken by the police, I have never felt so frustrated,” remarked Working Group on Conservation of Ganga dolphins, Union ministry of environment and forest, chairman Dr R K Sinha.
The impact of the killing was felt in Delhi.“I got a call from a joint secretary ranked official from the Union ministry of environment and forest stating that minister Jairam Ramesh was upset when he saw the photograph of the dead dolphins in a newspaper and asked for the details of the killings. I sent the official details about the killing of the four dolphins,” Sinha said.
During the last four months there have been reported killing of six Ganga dolphins. “But I have contacts with several fishermen and I can say that the unreported cases of dolphin killings is much higher,” said Sinha who has carried out a single-handed campaign and research to save Ganga Dolphins for the last 30 years.
The university professor of Patna University, who has won international recognition for his work on the Ganga dolphins, will be submitting an action plan to the ministry for the conservation of the dolphins within two weeks.
Found in the Ganga and some parts of Brahmaputra river, the number of Ganga dolphins has dwindled rapidly and in 1972 it was included in Schedule I list of endangered animals under the Wildlife Protection Act enjoying the same legal protection as the Royal Bengal Tiger. Sinha, who has conducted surveys of dolphins in the Ganga right from Buxar to Manihari in Katihar district in Bihar, indicated that the last survey carried out in 2007 showed a slight rise. “I counted 800 plus. But it’s a slow breeding mammal and it needs strict enforcement of conservation laws to ensure that they stage a come back,” he added.
Incidentally, fishermen kill the Ganga dolphins for their oil which is used in baits. Due to an awareness campaign carried out by environmentalists, the killing of dolphins by fishermen has come down. Incidentally, it was the hue and cry raised by local fishermen that forced the culprits to abandon the bodies of four killed dolphins. In 2000, Patna High Court had intervened and asked the state government to stop the killings of Ganga dolphins. The state government, in its written affidavit, had promised patrolling of the Ganga river side where Ganga dolphins were found. However, the recent killings of Dolphins have proved that the steps taken so far are inadequate.