Bengal's dolphin action plan

The West Bengal forest department is all set to conduct a state-wide census of the endangered Gangetic dolphins and is awaiting the release of central funds, said an official.

Declared India's national aquatic animal in 2010, the Gangetic dolphin was once found in the thousands, but there are now fewer than 2,000 left in the country.

The department has prepared the Dolphin Action Plan which has been forwarded to Delhi by the urban development department. The action plan involves a census in the portion of the Ganges within Bengal and awareness programmes concerning the species. It also highlights the methods that would be used to count their numbers.

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