PV Report: Another dolphin was found dead in the Halda River in Hathazari upazila of Chattogram on June 25 afternoon.
Locals recovered the body of the mammal from the river’s Gorduara area.
With this, 41 dolphins have been found dead in the Halda and its canals in the last seven years.
Professor Md Monzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory at the University of Chittagong confirmed the matter.
He said the reason for the death of the dolphin may be its old age. The dolphin was buried in Hathazari.
“The dead dolphin was about seven feet long and weighed around 88.89 kilograms,” said Professor Md Monzoorul Kibria.
Earlier on Nov 23, 2022, the body of a dolphin was recovered from the Halda River, he added.
The Gangetic dolphin, an endangered aquatic animal, usually roams the Halda River, the only natural fish breeding ground in the country. However, due to man-made disasters and rising salinity, the habitat of mother fish as well as dolphins is now under extreme threat.
According to Professor Kibria, Gangetic dolphins are only found in the Halda and Karnaphuli Rivers of Bangladesh, and the Ganges in India. These dolphins have developed unique characteristics living in their natural habitat for hundreds of years.
Mentionable, the number of freshwater dolphins is decreasing gradually in the river Halda A survey revealed the existence of a total of 167 dolphins of ‘Platanista Gengetica’ species in the river in 2018. The number stood at 127 in another survey conducted using technologies two years later in 2020, said sources concerned.
The experts attributed pollutants from the multi-dimensional sources, absence of sewage treatment plants, dumping of household solid and liquid wastages and use of gill-net by the fishermen for the decrease in number.
The researchers emphasized awareness among the locals and coordination among the agencies concerned including the Department of Environment, Fisheries, Forest and local administration for an end to the death of the mammals.
/NU/
