Fishkill in Doddakallasandra lake raises greens' hackles

Thousands of fish in Doddakallasandra lake on Kanakapura Road, about 10 km south of Banashankari temple, were found dead on Tuesday morning.

The fishkill happened due to heavy inflow of sewage following the downpour on Saturday. People living in the area were in for a rude shock when they saw the dead fish floating in the water.

As people raised an alarm, BBMP personnel rushed to the spot to clean the lake. They removed some of the dead fish, but in the evening, a large number of them surfaced again.

“This is the first time that fish have been found dead in our lake. Though the water body is polluted, never in the past had we witnessed such an incident in the lake,” said Devaraj, a Doddakallasandra resident. He said sewage was killing the water body.

“Till 10 years ago, the lake was in good shape. Layouts and residential complexes which came up in the upstream spoilt it. Untreated sewage is directly let into the lake,” said Devaraj. He said sewage from Konanakunte is the biggest polluter.

Anand Yadwad, another resident, said he had seen this water body before and never imagined that it would deteriorate to such an extent.

“The water is highly contaminated. After Saturday’s rain, the pollution level increased in the lake, leading to the fishkill,” said Yadwad.

G Vidyasagar, chief executive officer of Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority, said he had sent a team to inspect the lake and submit a report.

“Following heavy rain with hailstorm on Saturday, a huge amount of sullage entered the lake, due to which the oxygen level in the water decreased drastically, leading to the death of fish,” said Vidyasagar.
DH News Service