Fish farmers engaged in cage farming have incurred substantial losses, amounting to lakhs of rupees due to this.
Mass fish deaths were reported in the Periyar River in Kerala’s Ernakulam district evoking protests from local farmers on Wednesday.
Thousands of dead fish reportedly found floating on the river early Tuesday were suspected to be caused by the discharge of industrial effluents from the Eloor-Edayar area of Ernakulam.
Fish farmers engaged in cage farming have incurred substantial losses, amounting to lakhs of rupees due to this. Over 200 fish cages are installed in these areas, and the toxins that flow into these cages cause the deaths of species such as Asian sea bass, pearl spot, and tilapia.
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Irked by the failure of the Kerala Pollution Control Board (PCB) to take action against factories discharging their effluents into the Periyar leading to the complete annihilation of fish, the cage fish farmers, along with people’s representatives of the affected areas, laid siege to the PCB engineer’s office at Eloor in Ernakulam on Wednesday.
The protesters wanted the PCB to take immediate action against the factories illegally dumping effluents containing harmful chemicals into the river.
Sources indicated that the unregulated opening of the bund due to heavy rains caused the excessive flow of accumulated effluent into the river. Numerous fish farmers engaged in cage farming reported losses worth lakhs of rupees. Health and food safety authorities are also on high alert to prevent the sale of dead fish to consumers.
Ernakulam District Collector N S K Umesh ordered the state Pollution Control Board to immediately investigate the cause of the fish deaths. The government also formed a special committee headed by the sub-collector to study the developments and submit a report in this regard within a week.
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