World Bank president Robert B Zoellick and Union minister Jairam Ramesh return from a tour of Ganga in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 12: The World Bank has decided to help the India government’s initiatives in conserving and protecting Ganga dolphins.

But the style in which the Robert B. Zoellick, the World Bank president, demonstrated his love for the national aquatic animal and also the river, was apparently more enchanting than the monotony of the technicalities involved in such process.

First, Robert hit the sprawling Gandhi Maidan and jogged hard for more than an hour early this morning when a thick layer of fog had blinded the capital.

But it was a warm-up for an adventurous boat journey in the mist-enveloped Ganga with biting cold wind sweeping across the river.

He boarded the motorboat with the Union environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, and an expert in dolphins, R.K. Sinha, and ferried in the chill water for 1 hour 45 minutes.

And looking remarkably fresh when others around were wrapped in layers of woollens and leather jackets, Zoellick giggled: “I am delighted. I succeeded in seeing several dolphins in the river.” Zoellick shared his mirth with chief minister Nitish Kumar, who too with a smile on his lips, said: “I am glad that Zoellick saheb watched the dolphins.”

In fact, a great lover of the Ganga dolphins himself, Nitish had played a pivotal role in getting the creatures of the deep declared as the national aquatic animal.

Two pilot boats travelled ahead of the one ferrying Zoellick and his team, as there was strong security arrangement for the visitor.

The alert forces with Kalashnikovs in their hands were patrolling the banks.

But the inquisitive residents found their space to watch the World Bank president boating in the Ganga from a distance.

“Yeh bahut sahasi aadmi hain. Itna thand paani mein nav se ghumna sadharan aadmi ke vash mein nahin (He is a very courageous person. It is beyond the strength of a common man to venture out in the river in cold waters,” said a fisherman.

The World Bank will help and co-operate the initiatives taken by the India government for conserving and protecting the Ganga river dolphins,” Zoellick said.

Zoellick, who arrived on a two-day visit to Bihar on Tuesday night, said: “I am excited to see the dolphins. It was an amazing experience. I managed to see the dolphins from a very close distance.” He also lauded the ongoing conservation efforts.

Jairam Ramesh explained the action plan for the conservation of the Ganga dolphins, saying: “Protecting the dolphins holds the key to the protection of the river’s ecosystem.

Nitish too said the aquatic animal was the “barometer” of the river’s health.

The action plan for conserving the Ganga dolphin has been prepared by the central government’s National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), the co-ordinating authority to address the problem of pollution in the river. The World Bank has decided to fund the NGRBA.

R.K Sinha told reporters that he had apprised the World Bank president and the environment minister about the importance of the dolphins for the river, various sources of pollution and steps needed for their conservation.

“An increase in the number of dolphins signals Ganga’s better health. And its decrease signals the river’s poor health and pollution in it,” Sinha also known as the Dolphin Man of India said.

According to an estimate, the Ganga is left with 2,000 dolphins against lakhs, a few decades ago.

Dolphin is an endangered species now for the conservation of which the Bihar government too has launched awareness programmes.