MAMALLAPURAM: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is planning to get down to cleaning the Ganges river in order to revive the freshwater dolphin population, Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said on Monday during a visit to the crocodile bank on the East Coast Road near Chennai. 

"Currently, the breeding grounds and habitats of the dolphins have been affected by the pollutants in the river, leading to a decline in their numbers. With this cleansing, we plan to revive the population," he said. 

The Ganges river dolphins, which now enjoy the status of the national aquatic animal is one of the four species of freshwater dolphins in the world. But poaching, excessive pollution and dam building has greatly reduced their numbers. As a consequence, the dolphin conservation plan was formulated this year. 

According to Dr Sandeep Behera, member of the Dolphin Conservation Committee under the MoEF and senior coordinator in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-India), the plan to clean the river which forms part of both the Dolphin Action Plan and the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) is already underway. 

"The plan envisages drastically reducing the flow of pollutants into the river. The government proposes to direct all industries along the river and its tributaries to stop discharge of effluents by recycling waste water. Already, the Central Pollution Control Board has closed down 56 tanneries along the river," he said