UP: 10-foot-long Gangetic dolphin found dead under Ganga bridge, weighs 350 kg

KANPUR: A 10-foot-long Gangetic dolphin was found dead under the Ganga bridge in the Jajmau area of Kanpur late on Friday evening. Jajmau police, with the help of boatmen, pulled the carcass out of the river and handed it over to the forest department.Forest department officials said the animal has been identified as a Gangetic dolphin. They suspect pollution in the Ganga may have caused its death, though the exact reason will be confirmed after a post-mortem examination.Officials said the dolphin weighed around 3.5 quintals. Local residents said pollution could be the cause, as water quality in this stretch of the Ganga is usually poor. Due to high pollution levels, aquatic animals often suffer from oxygen deficiency, they added.The discovery comes ahead of the Magh Snan, which is set to begin on January 3 in Prayagraj. Authorities, from the chief minister to district officials, are maintaining strict vigilance to ensure no pollution enters the Ganga during the period.As part of preventive measures, tanneries have been shut since December 31 due to the Magh fair.Jajmau police station in-charge Jitendra Singh said the dolphin was handed over to forest ranger Rakesh Pandey. He added that the carcass appeared to be two to three days old.Taking note of the incident, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Anjali Vishwakarma said the forest department had been informed. “The forest department team will conduct a post-mortem of the dolphin, after which the exact cause of death will be clear,” she said.The Ganga river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a freshwater species found in the Ganga and its tributaries across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It has been listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List since 1996.The species is threatened by reduced river flows during dry seasons, entanglement in fishing nets, accidental deaths, hunting, and increasing pollution in rivers near urban and agricultural areas.