The Union environment ministry has designated October 5 as National Dolphin Day and it’ll be observed annually ranging from this year. The National Board for Wildlife’s (NBWL) committee took the decision to designate October 5 as National Dolphin Day.

The day will concentrate on generating awareness because it is an integral part of dolphin conservation including the Gangetic Dolphin.
People’s participation to conserve Dolphins also will be focused upon nowadays.

The focus will tend to improve the Ganga and its tributaries’ water quality and flow so Gangetic dolphins can survive. Dolphins act as an ideal indicator of a healthy aquatic ecosystem, thus the conservation of dolphins is of utmost importance. Doing so won’t only benefit the survival of the species but also will help the folks that are addicted to the aquatic system for their daily livelihood.

The Gangetic dolphin acts as an indicator species. The status of this species provides information on the ecosystem’s overall condition together with information associated with the opposite species that are present in this ecosystem. Gangetic Dolphins are categorized as species under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List.

In 2012 and 2015, the provincial forest department together with WWF- India recorded 1,272 dolphins within the Ganga, Chambal, Yamuna, Betwa, Ken, Sharda, Son, Gahagra, Geruwa, Rapti, and Gandak.

The Gangetic Dolphins have threatened thanks to water diversion, pollution, habitat fragmentation, etc.