10 river dolphin deaths reported in Assam since 2020: Centre
Accidental killing & internal injury were among reasons ascribed to these deaths
New Delhi, July 22: The Centre on Monday said that a total of 10 cases of mortality of river dolphins was found across various river systems in Assam between 2020 and 2025.
The information was shared in the Parliament by the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh. “Various reasons like accidental killing, unknown causes, internal injury etc., were ascribed to these deaths,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha.
The Minister said that under project Dolphin, the first-ever comprehensive population survey of Ganges River Dolphins was conducted in the entire range of the Ganga and Brahmaputra, including the Indus River Dolphin in the Beas river systems. “The survey estimated a population of 6,324 Ganges River Dolphins. As per studies conducted on river dolphins the population of the Ganges River Dolphin in Brahmaputra river has been reported as stable but there are no recent reports of its presence in Barak river,” Singh said.
The Minister was replying to a query raised by Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi. When asked whether the Government has conducted any comprehensive studies on the impact of construction of dams and other infrastructure such as bridges at the locations having higher population of Ganges River Dolphins in the Northeast region, Singh said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change has not undertaken any specific study on impact of construction of dams and other infrastructure at locations having higher population of Ganges River Dolphins in Northeast region.
“However, the Environment Impact Assessment Notification (EIA), 2006 mandates a comprehensive environmental clearance process which also includes biodiversity assessments as part of the EIA process for dam construction projects. Further, for projects involving more than 50 hectares of land, and falling within protected areas, biodiversity impact assessment report is required for consideration of the project by the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife,” Singh added.