Country’s first community reserve for Gangetic river dolphins to be set up in West Bengal
Q. West Bengal has taken decision for which initiative to protect the endangered Gangetic river dolphins on 9th October 2015?- Published on 10 Oct 15a. First community reserve
b. Survey to measure count
c. Regulations regarding fishing in the waters
d. None of the above
ANSWER: First community reserve
For protecting the endangered Gangetic river dolphins, the Indian state of West Bengal will have the first community reserve for the mammals. This decision was taken by the State Wildlife Board even as a committee was formed to study ways of setting up community reserve in Hooghly river between Sundarbans and Malda. This stretch is around 500 km long and passes through Kolkata’s most populated areas before merging in the Sunderbans with the Bay of Bengal. As per the Wildlife Protection Act, there is provision for creation of such community reserves for protection of fauna and flora. Gangetic dolphins are the national aquatic animal of India. A census will also be carried out to assess their numbers.. Currently, the number of dolphins is less than 2000 in India. The Gangetic Dolphin is known as the Tiger of the Ganges and is an indicator animal for the river ecosystem in much the same way as a tiger in forests. Killing, habitat fragmentation and indiscriminate fishing has led to fall in the numbers of these dolphins.
