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Tuesday, June 28, 2016, Ashar 14, 1423 BS, Ramadan 22, 1437 Hijri


Farakka Barrage also behind rapid fall in gharial population
Observer Online Desk
Published :Tuesday, 28 June, 2016,  Time : 9:59 PM  View Count : 3
The Farakka Barrage constructed on the Indian part of Ganges River in 1975 has largely contributed to the rapid decline of gharial population in the lower reparian Padma River in Bangladesh, according to experts.

After the construction of the Farakka Barrage in India, the Pdama riverbed has got silted up, destroying the habitat of gharial,” chief conservator of forest Md Yunus Ali told a workshop at Ban Bhaban in the capital on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Forest Department and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh jointly arranged the 
workshop under the World Bank-funded Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection (SRCWP) Project.

Gharial is one of the critically endangered species in Bangladesh. Once the aquatic animal used to thrive in the Padma-Jamuna river systems of Bangladesh, but it has almost disappeared from this geographic range.

Citing the findings of a recent study, principal investigator of Gharial Conservation in Bangladesh Project Dr Md Kamrul Hasan said now only 200 gharials are there in the world, with only 10 sighted in Padma and Jamuna rivers in 2015.

Yunus Ali said aquatic habitats have turned unhealthy in the country because of poor water flow in the country’s major rivers like Padma and Jamuna. 

“When a major volume of water is diverted from a river, its aquatic habitat is badly affected. And such things have happened in our country, too” he said. 

Stressing the need for taking up the issue of poor water flow of the country’s rivers at bilateral meetings with India, thechief conservator said Bangladesh should take a joint programme with the neighbouring country to protect gharial from extinction. 

IUCN programme officer ABM Sarowar Alam Dipu identified fishing net, riverbank erosion, sand mining from rivers, water pollution, scarcity of fish species and poor water flow in rivers are among the major threats to gharials.

Dr Kamrul Hasan, also an associate professor at Zoology Department of Jahangirnagar University, presented a draft of Bangladesh Gharial Management Plan on the occasion.

IUCN country representative Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad, SRCWP project director Abdul Mabud and divisional forest officer of Rajshahi Md Abul Kalam, among others, spoke at the workshop.

UNB/RI







Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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