Rescuing Gharials: Mahanadi River

• 11 Jun 2021

Why in News

Recently, Odisha announced a cash award of Rs. 1,000 to conserve gharials in Mahanadi River Basin.

Key Points

• About Gharials:
  
  • Gharials, sometimes called gavials, are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts. Crocodilians are a group of reptiles that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and more.
  • India has three species of Crocodilians namely:
    
    • Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus): IUCN Red List- Critically Endangered
    • Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris): IUCN- Vulnerable.
    • Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): IUCN- Least Concern.
      
      • All the three are listed on Appendix I of CITES and Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
      • Exception: Saltwater Crocodile populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are included in Appendix II of CITES.
  • Habitat of Gharials:
    
    • Natural Habitat: Fresh waters of the northern part of India.
    • Primary Habitat: Chambal river (a tributary of Yamuna).
    • Secondary Habitat: Ghagra, Gandak river, Girwa river (Uttar Pradesh), the Ramganga river (Uttarakhand) and the Sone river (Bihar).
  • Significance: Population of Gharials are a good indicator of clean river water.
  • Conservation Efforts:
    
    • Breeding Centres of Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, National Chambal Sanctuary (Gharial Eco Park, Madhya Pradesh).
  • Threats:
    
    • Increased river pollution, dam construction, massive-scale fishing operations and floods.
    • Illegal sand mining and poaching.
• Mahanadi River:
  
  • About:
    
    • The Mahanadi River system is the third largest of peninsular India after Godavari and Krishna, and the largest river of Odisha state.
    • The catchment area of the river extends to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
    • Its basin is bounded by the Central India hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and east and by the Maikala range on the west.
  • Source:
    
    • It rises from a place near Sihawa in Bastar hills in the state of Chhattisgarh to the south of Amarkantak.
  • Major Tributaries: Seonath River, Hasdeo river, Mand river, Ib river, Jonking river, Tel river
  • Mahanadi River Dispute: The Central Government constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018.
  • Major Dams/Projects on Mahanadi:
    
    • Hirakud Dam: This is the longest dam of India.
    • Ravishankar Sagar, Dudhawa Reservoir, Sondur Reservoir, Hasdeo Bango and Tandula are other major projects.

Source: DTE