Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the Project Dolphin will be launched in another 15 days. A couple of days ago, on the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 'Project Dolphin' in his speech, which he said aims to boost biodiversity and create employment opportunities.
“As announced by PM Modi, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will be launching a holistic Project Dolphin in another 15 days for conservation and protection of dolphins in rivers and oceans of India", Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday.
In his speech, PM Modi said that his government wanted to promote Project Dolphin.
“We will focus on both types of dolphins living in the rivers and in the seas. This will also give a boost to biodiversity and create employment opportunities. This is also a centre of attraction for tourism. So, we are going to move forward in this direction too,” Modi had said.
Prakash Javadekar, Union Environment Minister, said on Monday that the project, as announced by PM Modi, will be launched in 15 days and is a measure to conserve the Gangetic river dolphins.
The Gangetic river dolphins, in 2010, were declared as national aquatic species.
These are a species of freshwater dolphins, found predominantly in the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra, and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
When it comes to India, these dolphins can be spotted in deep river reaches in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
River dolphins are considered as a sign of healthy river ecosystems. The Ministry, therefore, said that their conservation would also ensure controlling river pollution and at the same time improving availability of fish that would enhance economies of local communities through sustainable fishery.
“It envisages to address conservation concerns and empower the stakeholders like the river-dependent population in reducing river pollution and allowing sustainable fishery and river-based other livelihood options through scientifically oriented conservation methods,” it said.
About 3,700 Gangetic river dolphins can be found in Indian river systems, as stated by official figures.00 thenewsminute