Excited to spot a dolphin in Ganga in Varanasi: Yogi Adityanath

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has said that the Centre's "Namami Gange Project" has become so successful in cleaning Ganga river that he spotted a dolphin floating in it a day before.

Yogi mentioned it while addressing the Times Water Summit on November 28. Organized by The Times of India and partnered by Mantena Constructions, the Summit aimed at deliberating a need for a robust water policy.

The Chief Minister heaped praise on the "Namami Gange Project" calling it highly successful in rejuvenating the water flow and improving the water quality.

He said that earlier in Varanasi, when people used to take a dip in Ganga ji, it used to cause red rashes all over the body and the aquatic animals were almost extinct.

However, according to him, now the water quality has improved significantly.

"Yesterday, I was cheerful to see a dolphin floating in Ganga ji again with my eyes," He said adding that this is an indicator of the success of the "Namami Gange Project".

River dolphins are mammals and they are very shy in nature. In the 70s and 80s when the quality of water was better in river Ganga, there were a lot of dolphins lived in the river from Haridwar to the Bay of Bengal.

However, over a period of time, due to the increase in pollution in river water, they started becoming extinct.

During the lockdown, since a lot of industrial activities were on hold, it complemented the government’s effort to clean the river. A lot of news reports came about the spotting of dolphins at various locations in Ganga.

According to reports, about 2000 dolphins are now found in the river. It is a substantial increase.