Gangetic dolphins sighted in highly polluted pockets of Hooghly river

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New Delhi: Environment experts have managed to sight Gangetic dolphins in highly polluted pockets of Hooghly, in Kolkata.

Experts from Worldwide Fund for Nature-India, who mapped the abundance of and threats to Gangetic dolphins in the Hooghly, say one of the most "striking features" of the study was that the endangered mammals were sighted in highly polluted pockets of the river.

The study was conducted by observing and counting dolphins from the riverbank at specific locations along the 534-km stretch of the Hooghly in West Bengal.

The current global population of the species is between 1,200 and 1,800 individuals.

"We sighted around 75 to 80 dolphins, between Farakka and Ganga Sagar, during the period. We know that in locations where pollution levels and man-made disturbances are high, dolphins are usually not found. However, there are some highly-polluted points such as Kolaghat and Gadiara where we sighted the mammals.

"If we take measures now, if we can reduce the level of pollution and generate awareness, then we can protect them," Saswati Sen, State Director, WWF-India, West Bengal, told IANS on Wednesday.

Sen spotted around seven to eight dolphins with calves in Kolaghat, a town located on the banks of the Rupnarayan river in the East Midnapore district.

The organisation has initiated a dialogue with municipal corporations and panchayats to help generate awareness in these locations.

(With IANS inputs)