About Ganges River Dolphin

• The Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) is one of the five river dolphins found in the world. The species is found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. 
• They feed majorly on fish, but are blind. Instead they use echolocation to detect food and navigate, and, to a very small extent, communication and it can survive only in freshwater.
• In 2009, the government declared Ganges river dolphin as the National aquatic animal. 
• Despite being a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, its numbers had dwindled over the last century due to indiscriminate fishing, poaching and development of barrages and dams along with the habitat of the dolphins.
• Their population is estimated to be less than 2000 individuals.
• Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, located in Bihar, is dedicated to the conservation of the species.
• The presence of the Dolphin in a river system signals its good health and biodiversity.
• Protection Status: IUCN Red List: Endangered; CITES: Appendix I; Wildlife Protection Act (1972): Schedule I. 

Why in news?

• The U.P government stated that Dolphins have started coming back to the Ganga river with improvement in the quality of its water through the Namami Gange programme.

News in detail

• The assessment of river water quality carried out during the period 2014-2022 at 20 locations in Uttar Pradesh revealed that there has been a lot of improvement in dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical demand (BOD) and faecal coliform (FC) parameters.
• At present, the population of dolphins in Ganga in Uttar Pradesh is estimated to be around 600. Dolphins have also been seen breeding in Brijghat, Narora, Kanpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi, which is likely to increase their number further in the coming days.
• The government claimed that with the completion of 23 projects under the ambitious programme started in 2014, the State has successfully stopped flowing of more than 460 MLD of sewage into the Ganga in the State.
• Under the programme, additional treatment capacity of about 33 MLD (including 130 MLD that has been repaired) will also be created between September 2022 to December 2022 in Jhansi, Kanpur, Unnao, Shuklaganj, Sultanpur Budhana, Jaunpur and Baghpat at the cost of Rs.2304.55 crore.

reference:

• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/up-dolphins-return-to-ganga-as-water-quality-improves/article66073757.ece
• https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ganges-river-dolphin