More dolphins spotted, survey on

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 20

The state’s wildlife wing along with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Sunday spotted another group of dolphins in the Beas. Spilling of molasses from a sugar factory into the river had killed a large number of fish and there were concerns regarding endangered Indus River dolphins as well.

It was the third day when the WWF carried out its survey in the river and found that the mortality was higher upstream. “Though the river is getting healthier, the next 10 days are crucial and we need to observe the situation,” Gitanjali Kanwar, coordinator, WWF India, said while talking to The Tribune.

Besides adult dolphin, a calf was also spotted on Sunday. “Our team also saw turtles and gharyals,” she said.

The state’s Wildlife Wing has already said the spill had killed some endangered fish varieties too. “When it comes to mortality, the fish were of all size and variety,” said Kanwar. She said: “Catfish is a bottom-dwelling variety, it generally survives such contamination. The incident indicates that most of the species upstream died due to contamination,” she said.