KULSI RIVER

• It is a tributary of the Brahmaputra river in the Indian state of Assam.
• The river originates from the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
• After travelling 12 Km from its origin, the river enters the Kamrup district in Assam at Ukiam and finally flows into the Brahmaputra at Nagarbera.
• From Kulsi village to Nagarbera, the river is about 76km long.

• Indiscriminate and illegal mechanized sand mining, unplanned industrial growth and construction activities have destroyed the Kulsi river.
• Kulsi river is the habitat of the endangered Ganges river dolphin(Platanista gangetica gangetica) in Kamrup district, Assam.
• The water depth has fallen below one meter in 35 locations and 9 of these, the river is dry.
• The residential population of the national aquatic animal is on the verge of extinction in Kulsi.
• This freshwater aquatic mammal indicates the health of an aquatic system and is protected as a Schedule-1 species under the Wildlife(protection)act, 1972.
• Based on long-term observations in Kulsi, it is now understood that dolphins prefer a habitat where depth is greater than meters.
• The Wildlife Institute of India(WII), Dehradun, estimated that there was a 70% depth reduction in the river area in 2021 compared with 2020.

• Long-term extensive mechanized sand mining activities, have resulted in the diversion of more water into the Chaygaon, leaving the Kulsi almost dry for the first 10km.
• According to recent studies, India accounted for 90% of the global population of the Ganges river population and Assam accounted for 30% of the dolphin population of the country.
• over 17 years from 2005-to 2021, a 15-km range reduction of dolphin distribution has been observed in the Kulsi river.
• River dolphins have no eyesight and use echolocation for navigation, hunting their prey and communicating with each other.

• Adequate depth and width should be maintained in the existing bridges, the riparian zone of this river needs to be restored as part of the restoration of the Kulsi river ecology.
• There has to be a strict ban on harmful anthropogenic activities so that the river gets the time it requires for the restoration of its entire ecosystem.
• The inadequate spacing between pillars of the road bridge and railway bridge, on national highway 37, does not allow for the free flow of water, which makes it difficult for the dolphins to move between them.
• There are 14 bridges, including 4 under construction, in the entire stretch of the river Kulsi.

• The drying of the river and the threat to the dolphin population have worried local fishermen dependent on the river.
• Many villages are dependent on fishing and lost their livelihood due to the drying up of rivers.
• The dolphin helps the local fishermen in catching the fish. It chases the fish towards the fishermen to catch. If the dolphin vanishes, then it won't be possible to fish in the river as before.
• Some boats were engaged in manual mining in a small patch of the fragmented stretch and many boats would be lying idle.
• With the Kulsi river flow falling, the productivity of the wetlands in riparian areas has drastically declined.
• Due to the presence of fine quality sand in this river, there is high demand and more than 5,000 families are dependent on sand mining.
• Compared with mechanized mining upstream in the Kulsi and the Chaygaon river, sand manually mined has less demand as it comes mixed with silt and other particles.
• The drastic fall in the water flow in the Kulsi had adversely affected life along both banks of the river.