New Delhi: A section of the media has reported that Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti might have claimed in Lok Sabha that Gangetic Dolphins got blind because of pollution but her Ministry does not have any scientific basis to buttress the claim. The report has also quoted a RTI reply received from the Water Resources Ministry.
In this connection it is clarified that different activities related to Ganga are reviewed by the cabinet Minister at regular intervals. During one such review the aqua life of Ganga was also reviewed. In this review a presentation was made by an expert on aqua life in which the Minister was informed that dolphins in Ganga are getting blind due to pollution in the river. Therefore, the statement by the Minister is factually correct.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga has ordered an inquiry to find out how this factual information was not added while responding to the RTI quarry.