kolkata the ganges river dolphin indias national aquatic animal is set to get more protection in bengal the stretch of river hooghly between malda and sagar is likely to be developed as a dolphin community reserve confirming the development state chief wildlife warden azam zaidi said that the proposal would be placed for approval at the tenth meeting of the state wildlife board at nabanna on october 8 bengal is home to both the species of dolphins found in india irrawaddy dolphin and the ganges river dolphin the habitat of the irrawaddy dolphins is comparatively protected since its part of the sunderbans but the distribution range of the ganga river dolphin here hooghly is not a part of any protected area network in the state hence our focus is on hooghly and the ganges river dolphin zaidi added the dolphin is often considered as a biomonitoring tool of river health hence conservation of the ganges river dolphin will also ensure protection of the ecology of river hooghly said a source fishing and other rights must have been existing in various parts of river hooghly the declaration of the area as community reserve wont adversely impact such activities the focus will be on conservation of the ganges river dolphin and its habitat this needs to be discussed with various stakeholders states the agenda item no 5 under which the proposal has been listed zaidi refused to divulge much about the project however a source said that a survey on the status and extent of the dolphin habitat would be taken up prior to the declaration of the area as a dolphin community reserve a dolphin census has already been proposed under the state governments dolphin action plan the state will conduct a census of the endangered gangetic dolphins and the zoological survey of india and ngos such as wwfindia and aranyak will help the state in the process the survey area will cover the ganga main stream from malda to south 24parganas the total cost of the project has been pegged at rs 85 lakh the prime threat to the species is loss of habitat triggered by irrigation projects and pollution the ganges river dolphins are found in the gangesbrahmaputrameghna and karnaphulisangu river systems in nepal india and bangladesh it was declared as the national aquatic animal of india in 2010 sources said that less than 2000 such dolphins were left in the country now among the other proposals to be taken up for discussion at the meet are declaration of six conservation reserves in the state establishment of east kolkata wetland species community reserve expansion of teesta wildlife sanctuary in north bengal and formation of a standing committee for state wildlife board state wildlife advisory board member biswajit roy chowdhury said we have done census of animals in protected areas but what about the animals outside these areas and their protection now the thrust is on animals outside the protected areas taking a cue from the