National Dolphin Day to be celebrated on Oct 5: Environment Minister

New Delhi: Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav yesterday informed that October 5th has been designated as National Dolphin Day to be celebrated every year to create awareness for conservation of Dolphins. In a tweet, Mr Yadav stated that generating awareness and community participation is integral for conservation of the indicator species. 

He chaired the 67th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life in New Delhi yesterday. Considering that generating awareness amongst the people on the benefits of conservation of Dolphins is important, the Standing Committee recommended that every year 5th of October should be celebrated as National Dolphin Day.

The Standing Committee discussed several important policy issues and the proposals for wildlife clearances forwarded by the State Governments and the Union Territory administrations. Healthy aquatic ecosystems help in maintaining the overall health of the planet. Dolphins act as ideal ecological indicators of



a healthy aquatic ecosystem and conservation of the Dolphins will benefit the survival of the species and people dependent on the aquatic system for their livelihood. Environment Ministry has been taking up several activities for the protection and conservation of dolphins and its habitats.

 

The Standing Committee also considered 46 proposals for wildlife clearance and recommended several projects such as providing electricity in remote villages in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, and drinking water supply to villagers in Karnataka. Projects of strategic importance such as road and border outpost in Ladakh were also recommended during the meeting.

The Standing Committee recommended four proposals for construction of earthen dams in Haryana to improve irrigation facilities. It recommended road project under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Uttarakhand in order to provide connectivity to remote villages with appropriate animal passage structures.