The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India has launched unawareness in association with the Uttar Pradesh forest department and the HSBC Bank programme for the dolphins in Ganga river.

The awareness prgormme called, "My Ganga, My Dolphin" will include a survey of the number of dolphins present across a 2,800-km stretch of the Ganga river. The researchers will also count the number of the `tiger of the Ganga' in other rivers including Yamuna, Son, Ken, Betwa, Ghagra and Geruwal.

Mr Ravi Singh, the CEO of WWF India said that the creature is an indicator of an extremely healthy aquatic ecosystem and its presence shows great diversity in the rivers. The animal, which is found in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India and Bangladesh, is close to extinction.

According to estimates, the number or river dolphins fell from 6,000 in 1982 to less than 1,800 in 2012. The survey will involve the participation from forest department officials as well as 15 local non-governmental organizations in the state.

"Unfortunately, the construction of more than 50 dams and barrages on these rivers results in separating the populations and reducing the water levels in the river. Indiscriminate use of pesticides and fertilisers and the entanglement of these mammals in nylon fishing nets are some of the reasons for this rapid decline in population," said Mr. Singh.