Varanasi, March 06: Maximum 2397 dolphins have been found in the tributaries of Ganga and Brahmaputra in Uttar Pradesh. In this, the maximum number of 718 Gangetic dolphins were found in the 380 km long river area between Kanpur Barrage and Vindhyachal within the state.
After the census, the Central Government has released data and report about the dolphin population in North India. The report mentions that a total of 6227 dolphins were found in the entire North India. To count the dolphins, a survey was conducted in 28 rivers of North India covering a distance of 8507 km.
On Thursday, Forest Conservator and Regional Director, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, Varanasi, Ravi Kumar Singh gave this information.
According to Ravi Kumar Singh, this report was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 3 in Gir National Park, Gujarat.
He informed that it took 3150 man days for scientists and forest personnel to conduct the survey work for counting dolphins. Giving information about the possible number of dolphins state-wise, he said that 2397 dolphins have been found in Uttar Pradesh, 2220 in Bihar, 162 in Jharkhand, 95 in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, 815 in West Bengal, 535 in Assam and 3 in Punjab.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Project Dolphin on August 15, 2020 for the conservation of dolphins in aquatic areas, in which both river and sea dolphins were provided protection. In coordination with the Forest Department, Fisheries Department and fishermen’s groups, dolphins were counted in 8507 km long river areas in the tributaries of Ganga and Brahmaputra from 2021 to 2023. In which the highest number of dolphins was found in Uttar Pradesh among different states and within Uttar Pradesh, the presence of maximum 718 Gangetic dolphins was found in the 380 km long river area between Kanpur Barrage and Vindhyachal. Apart from Ganga, 584 dolphins were found in Brahmaputra river, 298 in Chambal, 557 in Ghaghra.
