The Department of Punjab Forest and Wildlife Preservation, in collaboration with the World-Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) recently released another lot of 23 gharials into the Beas flowing in Hoshiarpur district.

It was an extension of the state’s programme, conceptualised in 2005, to reintroduce, preserve and breed these critically endangered species of crocodile in Punjab streams.

In the phase-I of this project, 47 juvenile gharials were released into the Beas Conservation Reserve in batches between 2017-2018 in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.

Punjab, said a suitable undisturbed stretch of Beas, near Salimpur and Tahli Forest, Hoshiarpur, was selected for the current batch of 23 captive-bred gharials.

the long snouted gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) were brought here from Morena, Madhya Pradesh, under the phase-II of the project.

The Beas Conservation Reserve — a 185-km stretch of the Beas — was found to be a perfect habitat for the gharials, which were reintroduced into the river two years ago.

Gharials (Gavialis gangeticus):-

Natural Habitat: Fresh waters of the northern part of India.
Gharials, sometimes called gavials, are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts which resembles a pot (ghara in Hindi).
Significance: Population of Gharials are a good indicator of clean river water.
Gharials are a type of Crocodilians that also includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, etc. India has three species of Crocodilians namely:
Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus): International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)- Critically Endangered.
Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris): IUCN- Vulnerable
Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): IUCN- Least Concern
In comparison to Crocodiles, Gharials are very shy and unharmful species.
Primary Habitat: Chambal river

World Wide Fund for Nature-India, better known by its abbreviation, WWF-India, has been devotedly working to protect and secure natural heritage and ecology for more than 50 years. It has an autonomous office, with the Secretariat based in New Delhi and various state, divisional and project offices spread across India.[1] WWF-India is one of India’s leading conservation organizations. Established as a Charitable Trust in 1969, it has massed almost five decades of experience in the field. Having started with modest beginnings, the organisation has come a long way helped by the efforts of its founders and associates who volunteered their efforts to lend momentum to this movement in its initial years.

Beas River
The Beas originates near the Rohtang Pass, at a height of 4,062 m above sea level, on the southern end of the Pir Panjal Range, close to the source of the Ravi.
It crosses the Dhaola Dhar range and it takes a south-westerly direction and meets the Satluj river at Harike in Punjab.
It is a comparatively small river which is only 460 km long but lies entirely within the Indian territory.