Bhopal, Apr 26: Despite the mysterious death of more than 100 gharials in the Chambal river in the past three months, the Madhya Pradesh government today claimed that gharial and Magar population in Chambal national park has markedly increased while Gangestic river dolphins declined.

A survey conducted on 435 Km stretch of the river from February 11 to 23 revealed that there were a total of 996 gharials as compared to 865 found last year, while the Magar population also rose from 194 to 219 during the period.

River chambal which demarcates the border of MP, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is also home for Gangetic river dolphins. The recent survey revealed that there was slight decline in Dolphin population from 91 to 86. Similar survey is carried out in the Chambal river every year during winter since 2003.

An official release said between December 2007 and February 2008, 35 gharials met with untimely death in Madhya Pradesh and 75 in Uttar Pradesh mainly due to poisoning. But the recent survey was encouraging as gharial population was on the rise, the release added.