A group of dolphins was spotted for the first time in water of river Narmada near Shuklatirth and Angeshwar areas in Gujarat on Friday.

Gujarat’s Forest Department has temporarily banned fishing in the Narmada river. Authorities have been waiting for a high tide to enable the dolphin to go back into the sea and if that does not happen they may use mechanized boats to drive the fish into the sea.

“Dolphin falls into the category of protected species and the fishermen have been asked not to do fishing in the river,” S K Pandya, Ranger Forest Officer, said today.

According to environmentalists, the aquatic mammal might have swept into the river from the Arabian sea during the ‘Fyan’ cyclone earlier this week.

Meanwhile, a large number of people including tourists are thronging to the river bank to have a glimpse of the dolphin.