Guess who’s back along the shores of Kolkata, amid the lockdown? The South Asian River Dolphins are.
After nearly 30 years, ‘critically endangered’ South Asian River Dolphins (also known as Ganges Dolphins) are back across the ghats of Kolkata, all thanks to the reduced water pollution, due to the lockdown.
Well, this was possible only because the water quality in Hoogly river has improved significantly due to reduced pollution and industrial activity.
According to reports, in an interview with TOI, Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a senior environmental activist stated he spotted a couple of dolphins at Babughat.
Even Wildlife photographer Ganesh Chowdhury couldn’t believe that the dolphins had made a comeback after so many years. In an interview with TOI, he says:
I can remember even 30 years ago, these dolphins used to be spotted from different ghats of Kolkata. Then, as the water pollution levels increased, these mammals disappeared. Dolphins coming back simply indicates that the quality of Hoogly water has improved.
For those who don’t know, the Gangetic Dolphins are the only freshwater dolphins in the world so, this is kind of a big deal.
As per News18, 30 years ago, these rare Gangetic dolphins were regular visitors along the shores of Kolkata but, they were forced to leave their habitat (the Hoogly river) due to increased water pollution and human activity.
In a study conducted in 2017, by the Worldwide Fund for Nature-India, it was found that the population of Gangetic dolphins was barely 1,200 to 1,800. And, apart from pollution, one of the biggest threat to their existence in the Hoogly river was human activity and transport.
And, this is how the internet reacted to this story:
Such instances go on to show, it’s time for us humans to retrospect our actions and understand how we have affected nature. This lockdown is also showing us ways of co-existing with nature. Beautiful!
