Save dolphins of Sundarbans

There are around 10,000 Irrawaddy dolphins in the whole world. Of them, some 8,000 reside in the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has declared five areas of the Sundarbans as dolphin sanctuaries. They are Dangmari, Chandpai, Dudhmukhi, Bhadra and part of Shibsa river. However, the Dangmari, Bhadra and Shibsa sanctuaries have fallen in the waterways that are used by passenger ships for journeys between India and Bangladesh.

The water vessels, which ply en route the Bangladesh-India waterways, could threaten the habitats of dolphins because these South Asian river dolphins can see nothing. They depend on echolocation clicks to move through the muddy water and collect food. It will be hard for this endangered species to survive due to the sound pollution caused by increased movement of the cruise ship, cargo and motorised vessels.

The Sundarbans is now the last resort of the Irrawaddy dolphins. It is also the habitat of several other species, including the bottlenose and South Asian river dolphins. Therefore, the vessels, which ply on the Bangladesh-India waterways, should avoid the habitats of dolphins.

Abu Elias Linkon,

Banasree, Dhaka,

[email protected]