Bihar plans to soon develop a dolphin watch centre along the Ganga river here as a major tourist attraction as well as to raise conservation awareness about the endangered mammal declared as India's National Aquatic Animal.

"It (dolphin watch centre) will be developed as a tourist attraction on the lines of whale and dolphin watching centres in Canada and Japan," Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Wednesday.

"The government's initiative would link the conservation of Gangetic river dolphin with tourism," he said. The proposed centre will come up along the Ganga river near Patna, where dolphins are still sighted. Of the over 2,000 Gangetic dolphins left in India, nearly 1,300 are in Bihar, Modi added.

The deputy chief minister said that Bihar would celebrate Oct 5 as 'Dolphin Day' to create awareness about the endangered species. "Dolphin Day is a part of the Wildlife Week being observed from Oct 2-8," he said.

The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, India's only such sanctuary spread over 50 km along the Ganga river, is located in Bhagalpur district, around 235 km from here.

(You need to login first to read complete news).
New User? Register for FREE!
» Back to Travel News