‘Sites in Hastinapur Sanctuary not suitable for gharial release’

Conservator of Endangered Species Division,Eva Sharma,said: “We have received the survey report from WWF-India and considering this,from now on,we will not release any more gharials in these areas.”

“No monitoring was being done in the area where gharials were being released earlier. Such assessments will help in gharial conservation and will also help us in ascertaining whether a particular habitat for them is suitable or not,” added Sharma.

Between January 2009 and February 2010,131 captive reared gharial from Kukrail Breeding Centre in Lucknow were released in Ganga at Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.

The gharial is considered to be a critically endangered species under Schedule (I) of the Wildlife Protection Act.

According to the report,of the four sites surveyed,three were unsuitable for gharial re-introduction. The sites are Gharhmukteshwar,the southern most limit of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Ghaziabad,Shukratal in Muzzafarnagar and Tigri Ghat in J P Nagar.

These areas have high levels of disturbance in terms of fishing activities and riverbed cultivation. Also,there are no shelters in the area in the form of shoreline vegetation and creeks for gharials. The Mukhdumpur stretch in Meerut district,however,was found to the most suitable site. It has favourable water quality,three sand banks,shallow water,deep pool,fast water current and presence of shelter in the form of shoreline vegetation.

The total extent of favourable habitat along Mukhdumpur was found to be six kilometres till Jalalpur Johara. According to the report,of the 131 gharials released,a maximum of 100 were sighted in February last year while a minimum of 18 were seen in August at these sites.