Development initiatives along the Indus River pose a threat to the safety of prey species, particularly blind dolphins, World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) officials have raised alarm. Moreover, the inland waterway project planned to develop the Indus River for transporting goods through vessels could also be detrimental for the Indus’ dolphin population, they added. WWF-P’s River Dolphin Rivers Initiative coordinator in Asia Dr Uzma Khan recalled that blind Indus dolphins were once found in all major rivers of Pakistan, including Sutlej, Ravi and Jhelum. However, infrastructural development wiped out the population in those rivers and now they are only found in the Indus River, she said. Dr Khan stated that a decline of around 80 per cent had been witnessed in the species range of blind Indus dolphins due to the construction of barrages.

Source: The Express Tribune October 25, 2020 03:45 UTC