Puri: The annual dolphin census began in Chilika Lake at 7 am on Thursday.
The counting is being carried out by 80 enumerators grouped into 11 teams. Students from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), WWF personnel, wildlife experts, and activists are part of the teams.
To ensure smooth conduct of the drive, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) has stopped plying of motorised boats in the lake.
The annual census is carried out in the lake as well as the 480-km long Odisha coast. Over 450 dolphins were sighted in the Odisha coast, including 162 in the lake, last year.
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