Ganga dolphins may become extinct

Extremely valuable freshwater Ganga river dolphins 'Platanista Gangetica' or 'susu', considered the most endangered mammal of the region, may soon become extinct from Ganga and Brahmputra river systems. Their number is rapidly dwindling due to high industrial and biological pollution level in Ganga water, apart from poaching and illegal fishing.

Extremely valuable freshwater Ganga river dolphins 'Platanista Gangetica' or 'susu', considered the most endangered mammal of the region, may soon become extinct from Ganga and Brahmputra river systems.

HT Image

Their number is rapidly dwindling due to high industrial and biological pollution level in Ganga water, apart from poaching and illegal fishing.

In a fresh survey conducted by Vandana Srivastava, a research student at Department of Botany, Allahabad University, it was found that only 100 freshwater dolphins are left in the rivers in UP, 500 dolphins in Bihar and only 100 dolphins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Platanista Gangetica specie was also no longer found in the upstream portion of the river, indicating high pollution level caused due to sewer water and industrial waste, which contains substances like phosphate, sulphate and organic chloride. It was also found that the number of crocodile and tortoise have also reduced due to falling oxygen level in Ganga river.

In her extensive research Srivastava identified the chemical content in the Ganga river, against the parameter set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In per litre industrial waste the level of alkalinity is 11.9 per cent, flouro carbon 16.28 per cent, total dissolved solid 8.31 per cent, chloride 17.4 per cent, copper 2.7 per cent, iron 8.5 per cent, magnesium 1.4 per cent, phosphate 3.1 per cent, potassium 46.1 per cent, zinc 2.4 per cent and lead 9.88 per cent.

When this industrial waste is disposed in Ganga water the level of alkalinity reaches 9.8 per cent in per litre water, flouro carbon 6.50 per cent, total dissolved solid 6.73 per cent, chloride 5.7 per cent, copper 1.4 per cent, iron 6.3 per cent, magnesium 0.6 per cent, phosphate 2.6 per cent, zinc 1.1 per cent and lead .082 per cent.

The chemical content was found much higher in Ganga river due to harmful industrial waste than prescribed by WHO.

Prof Dinanath Shukla of AU Botany Department said due to its special characteristics dolphins play an important role in the ecological balance.

Some major steps need to be taken for its conservation because being sweet water dolphins they cannot be shifted to sea where water is saline. Same is the case with turtles and crocodiles.

By eating biological waste they keep the water clean and if they become extinct the Ganga river will only become sewer water, he remarked.