Vadodara: In what could be a first-of-its-kind initiative by a private citizen, a Barodian will take up count of crocodiles living in Vishwamitri River.Nishit Dand, a businessman and environment activist, has decided to take up the cause of crocodiles that have been living in the river for more than a century now. Dand said that the comprehensive report will be submitted to the state government. The census will be done for two days beginning February 22 and the report will be prepared within 10 days.“Crocodiles living in Vishwamitri have been such an important part of our eco-system. It is due to these reptiles that the river and its biodiversity has survived, but there has never been a comprehensive study of this river. So, we decided to conduct a census of the crocodiles living in Vishwamitri,” said Dand, the founding trustee of Pagdand, a NGO that works for environment conservation.The last census conducted in 2015 had put the number of crocodiles in the river at 260. They had also covered 10 lakes in Vadodara where crocodiles had been spotted. No fresh census of crocodiles has been done since then.“A team of 60 persons including the experts will conduct the census and study the other aspects of the river too. Apart from the number of crocodiles, we will be studying their behaviour, size, food habits and breeding. The focus will also be on other living creatures in the river,” Dand told TOI.When asked why a separate census was required when the forest department already does the count regularly, Dand said that the reports prepared by them are not available in public. “We haven’t come across any detailed study done by the forest department about the crocodiles and biodiversity in Vishwamitri River. Our idea is to publish a report so that people too can understand the importance of crocodiles and this river,” Dand.Vishwamitri River has been home to hundreds of crocodiles and turtles apart from the migratory birds that nest along the river bank during winters every year. “Millions of litres of sewage water is released in this river by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), some of which is treated. The study will also cover the impact such water has on the reptiles and how they have adapted to it,” Dand added.The study will cover the river stretch between Dena village on the northern end of the city to Talsat on the southern side. The human-crocodile interface will be one of the key aspects of the report. “Every monsoon, several crocodiles are rescued from this river and rehabilitated to other places. It is necessary to study how and where are they rehabilitated,” Dand added. The seven lakes in the city where crocodiles have been spotted will also be covered in the study.

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