Dolphin sanctuary suffers from funds crunch
August 21st, 2010 - 11:39 am ICT by IANSBy Imran Khan
Patna, Aug 21 (IANS) Lack of funds for India’s only dolphin sanctuary in Bihar is badly affecting conservation of the endangered Ganges river dolphin, which is the national aquatic animal.
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is spread over 50 km along the Ganga river in Bhagalpur district.
“No central grants have been allocated to the sanctuary since 2004. It is affecting the conservation of dolphins,” B.A. Khan, Bihar’s principal chief conservator of forests, told IANS.
An official of the sanctuary said: “The central forest and environment ministry had withheld the grants for the sanctuary on account of non-submission of utilisation certificate for grants sanctioned in the financial year 2000-01.”
Khan said the state government would soon approach officials concerned for the restoration of funds.
Set up in 1991, the sanctuary has reported frequent killings of the aquatic animal in the last one year. These dolphins are usually poached for their oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac.
Ganges river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
R.K. Sinha, an expert on Ganges river dolphins and chairman of the working group for dolphin conservation, alleges that poachers had killed two more dolphins in Bhagalpur and Patna a few weeks ago.
There are only about 2,000 Ganges river dolphins left in the sanctuary, down from tens of thousands just a few decades ago.
The Ganges river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
The species - found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal - is blind and finds its way and prey in the river waters through echoes.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
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- Asia's first dolphin research centre to come up in Bihar - Apr 15, 2012
- Dolphin 'mitras', a helping hand for Ganges river dolphins - May 13, 2010
- Activists cry foul over Ganges dolphin poaching - Apr 30, 2010
- Bihar to set up dolphin conservation task force - Apr 21, 2011
- Bihar task force report on Ganga dolphins soon - Jul 20, 2011
- Dolphin found dead in Patna - Jun 03, 2010
- Bihar to launch awareness campaign for dolphins - May 03, 2010
- World Bank to help save Ganga dolphins - Jan 12, 2011
- Call goes out to save the Ganges Dolphin - Feb 24, 2010
- Gangetic dolphin killed in Bihar - Apr 11, 2010
- (After 1)Eighth-century Bihar university set for conservation - Nov 02, 2011
- Like Nalanda, Vikramshila may rise from ruins - Jan 24, 2012
- Bangladesh Sundarbans to have dolphin sanctuaries - Nov 03, 2011
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