Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has declared the
Gangetic Dolphin as the State aquatic animal.
CM Yogi emphasised the need to maintain the purity of ponds and
rivers. These dolphins are found in rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal,
Ghaghra, Rapti, and Gerua. The estimated population of Gangetic dolphins in
Uttar Pradesh is estimated at around 2,000.
“It’s important for both tourists and local residents to refrain
from using plastic, as it harms our water and nature,” said CM Yogi.
Additionally, the CM highlighted the importance of training local
residents on how to interact with wildlife.
He also proposed training individuals from villages connected to
the Tiger Reserve as guides, aiming to create employment opportunities and
raise awareness within the community.
Teams of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Forest Department
have been recently counting dolphins with the help of GPS in Garh Ganga at
Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Regarding the ongoing dolphin census in Garh Ganga, DFO Sanjay
Kumar Mall said, “This is a campaign named Meri Ganga Meri Dolphin 2023
campaign. Under this, counting of dolphins is being done in river Ganga from
near Muzaffarpur Barrage to the entire Narora Barrage.”
He added, “In this, counting is being done through joint action by
both WWF and Forest Department teams. There is a method of counting in it, such
that there are two teams, each of which runs at a speed of 10 kilometres per
hour, and there is a gap of 10 minutes between them. The entire team from
Muzaffarpur to Narora Barrage will see how many dolphins dip in this interval.”
“That team watches the dolphin diving and notes down its GPS
location, and then another team comes and notes down its GPS location. It shows
that if it comes after an interval of 10 minutes then it is the same dolphin,
if it does not come then it is another dolphin then the counting is done in the
same way,” DFO Sanjay Kumar continued.
The DFO said in the old data, there were 22 dolphins counted in
2015, 30 dolphins in 2016, 32 dolphins in 2017, 33 dolphins in 2018, 35
dolphins in 2019 and 41 dolphins in 2020.
PTI
