AB's baby bats for river dolphins! ...by Sajjan Singh Thakur in the HINDUSTAN TIMES 

We are already shocked to learn about the gradual disappearance of the forest tigers. What about the "river tiger" as the environmentalists would love to call the 'river dolphins'! In fact, the Ganga river dolphins, one of the world's first protected species, given special status under Emperor Ashoka's reign, have been marked as endangered species by ICU's red list of threatened animals. To be more precise, Ganga river dolphin, one of the four freshwater dolphins in the world, which once ranged throughout the Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems, faces extinction. And humanity could not care less, least of all WWF. That is why its India chapter, which is going whole hog to save the rare species, has launched 'Save the River Dolphin Campaign' as part of its Dolphin Conservation Programme.

It (campaign) is taking the shape of a movement now, with people from all walks of life joining the chorus. You had to see the brilliant mass of people congregated at Garhmukteshwar (Ghaziabad) on Saturday to believe it. The campaign has received tremendous support and participation from senior environmentalists, scientists, social activists, students of over 40 schools, colleges, and universities, army personnel, administrative authorities and local communities, informed Pinky Pradhan, communications officer, WWF-India.

No wonder, Shweta Nanda, daughter of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, perhaps took a cue from her father, who is a UNICEF envoy, in deciding to do her bit for these river dolphins "on purely humanitarian basis". She spent a full day with WWF-India's team on Saturday, criss-crossing river Ganga on a motorboat, espousing the cause of this beautiful and extremely valuable species (for monitoring the aquatic environment). In fact, river dolphin acts as an indicator of health of the river system. Being at the top of the food chain, its presence in adequate numbers signifies a rich biodiversity within the river system. "I would love to bring my kids here to see these beautiful creatures. If only they continue to exist and flourish," Shweta said, appealing to all, "we must not let India's natural heritage -- these dolphins -- vanish, and must do something to save them, before it's late."

Chief guest Shweta flagged off a two-day 'Save the River Dolphin' (boat) rally, from Garhmukteshwar (Ghaziabad district) to Narora (Bulandsahar district). The concluding event on Saturday was part of the WWF-India's campaign spread over three months. "Though tied with household chores and children, I will do my best to endorse this (WWF's) campaign," Shweta told HindustanTimes.com. This particular area of Ganga falls under the 165-km Bijnaur-Narora stretch which boasts of this unique creature whose swelling number from 19 in 1991 to 40 has put a smile on the faces two most significant people who are doing the kind of stuff legends are made of: Parikshit Gautam, director, freshwater and Wetlands programme, and Sandeep Kumar Behera, co-ordinator, freshwater and wetlands conservation programme. They believe in the natural habitat of Ganga river dolphins, "no artificial techniques, research needed, as of now". Mind you, "a good number of nearby villages have stopped eating non-veg", thanks to WWF's awareness programme, a volunteer informed this correspondent. Leave alone killing animals and engaging in any environment-polluting activities that have put this species' life at risk in other parts of India where their numbers have taken a nosedive: down to 1500 from 4000 a decade back. This decreasing figure has, in fact, set the alarm bells ringing among the environmentalists and animal lovers. Hence, WWF's overriding concern pertains to the protection of areas of high biodiversity to ensure that they provide clean water for people and nature.

Earlier, at a function at Garhmukteshwar, Shweta, wearing a pale blue salwar kurta, held the schoolchildren displaying placards (Save dolphin, save environment) spell-bound with her effervescent smile and efficacious pleas to all to do something to save these dolphins. She was also presented mementoes by the WWF-India. Later, a public felicitation of Shweta at Puth village Gurukul was marked by a brilliant show of dhanurvidya (archery) during her abhinandan, which also included a question-answer session between the forest officials and school children which centred on river pollution, affecting dolphins in particular and environment in general. "Agri pollutants being main worry in this particular area, we try to convince local people use cow dung and neem seeds instead of fertilisers and pesticides and have been creating awareness among them about cleanliness of the river, being sullied by the nullahs," informed Behera.

The team has also set its sight on Bihar, Assam and West Bengal in its next course of action, where balance of nature or a lack of it is a cause for worry vis-a-vis Ganga river dolphin, maintained Gautam. The awareness campaign, involving workshops, competitions and discussions, has roped in all and sundry including V-Cs of three universities, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, GB Pant Univerrsity of Agriculture and Technology, Gorakhpur University, Meerut DM Chandra Bhanu, Ghaziabad and Bulandsahar DM Neena Singh, conservator of forest RK Singh and divisional forest officers of Meerut and Bulandsahar, informed senior programme officer, WWF-India, Vidya S.