Bihar to have 1st Crocodile Conservation Reserve at Gandak

To conserve the endangered specie of Crocodile, Bihar government has taken an initiative to open a Crocodile Conservation Reserve along the 140 km stretch of Gandak river which will also be tagged as eco-tourism hotspot.

New Delhi:A first of its kind in Bihar, a Crocodile Conservation Reserve (CCR) will be setup along the 140 km stretch of Gandak river. The Bihar Government is also planning to tag it as eco-tourism hotspot.

It was a mission initiated by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to conserve the endangered crocodile species from its extinction.

The organisation has identified a 140 km stretch from Ratwal bridge to the downstream along the Gandak river having the second largest population of the reptile.

After Chambal, Gandak has the second largest population of crocodile.

"The Gandak river that comes from Nepal in the downstream have the second largest population of crocodile. Crocodile (Gharial) are now found in Nepal and India only with almost no presence in Myanmar and Bangladesh," said Sameer Kumar Sinha, deputy director in the WTI in an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat.

"The Bihar State Board of Wildlife has agreed in principle for the CCR...we are waiting for some paper works to be done," said Sinha.

It was in 2014, WTI has started the crocodile conservation project in Bihar.

In the early days the conservation of this endangered species was almost nil following the unrest in Bihar.

After the situation turns normal, initiatives was taken to conserve the endangered crocodile.

The Bihar Governmnet has reportedly sent its proposal to the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment in this direction.

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