DERA GHAZI KHAN: A net installed by a fish contractor in the Indus river killed an Indus dolphin near Taunsa Barrage.

The blind dolphin, a rare marine mammal, is an endangered species living in the Indus.

Allah Bakhsh Chandia, the president of a non-government organisation working for conservation of marine life in the Indus, found the dolphin dead near the barrage.

In a video clip, he alleged that the men deputed by the contractor had installed a net and used electric current in the water that had killed the blind dolphin.

He alleged that the officials of the wildlife and fisheries department as well international organisations had failed to protect the endangered fish species.

When this scribe contacted Dera Ghazi Khan Wildlife Deputy Director Naveed Tariq, he was not aware of the incident but claimed to inquire into the matter.

WWF representative Munawwar Abbas deputed at Taunsa Barrage told Dawn that the cause of death of the Indus dolphin was the net installed for catching fish.

Former member of WWF Umer Waqas said the mortality rate of blind dolphin between the Guddu and Taunsa barrages was five to six per year but a majority of cases of killing of blind dolphin remained unreported.

According to surveys conducted by different organisations, the population of Indus dolphin varied from 800 to 1,400.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021