Guwahati's city animal, river dolphin remains neglected

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Guwahati had became the first city in the country to have the Gangetic River Dolphin as its city animal as a result of the Kamrup (M) district administration's move to declare the aquatic animal as its official mascot on June 6, 2016. However, since 2016 nothing has been done by the Government to conserve, preserve or even find out how many Gangetic River Dolphins remain in the river Brahmaputra along Guwahati and Assam as a whole.

Dr Abdul Wakid, senior dolphin conservationist and expert, said, "A dolphin census across Assam was conducted ten years back in 2012 under my leadership and the data recorded revealed a population of more than 600 dolphins across the State, which was a good number as compared to that of 2005, which had revealed a population of 250 dolphins in Assam".

A source in Assam Tourism Department said that as of now the department has no plan to promote Guwahati's city animal.

Sources also said that there are approximately 800 dolphins or 'Xihu' in the river Brahmaputra at present.

Moreover, river dolphins are also present in national parks like Kaziranga and Orang, with the species enjoying sufficient protection there. Other dolphin hotspots in the Brahmaputra are located at Sivasagar, Tezpur, Guwahati and Goalpara.

There are ongoing debates regarding the count of dolphins in the Brahmaputra but since 2016, no initiative has been taken by any of the Government departments to conduct a proper survey.

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