<p>Dharwad: The century-old Kelgeri tank is once again in the news for the wrong reasons. If it was the contamination of water and large growth of water hyacinth brought infamy to the tank, this time it is the deaths of fish. For the last three days, hundreds of big and medium-sized fish have been dying, raising concerns about the ecosystem.</p><p>The fishermen who take up inland fishing at Kelgeri were in shock when they found hundreds of dead fish floating on the water. They immediately brought the issue to the notice of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and also the HDMC. However, the officials could not figure out the cause for the deaths of fish. The water sample has been sent for lab testing and the report is awaited, according to KSPCB officials.</p><p>However, the environmentalists who are striving hard to rejuvenate this waterbody attribute the reason for release of untreated sewage water into the tank along with high content of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) (NPK) and pesticides into the waterbody.</p><p>Nature Research Centre (NRC) convener Harshvardhan Sheelvanth stated that when the fish died last time, a research was taken up to know the reason. It was found that a high level of NPK in the wastewater is polluting the tank besides boosting the growth of water hyacinth, which has covered almost 40% of the tank.</p><p>NPK is a booster for water hyacinth and if this grows all over, the sunlight cannot penetrate into the water. Due to lack of sunlight, there is less dissolved oxygen generation. As fish breathe dissolved oxygen, any shortage leads to the deaths of the fish, he pointed out.</p><p>This apart, Kelgeri is known for mango groves and mango cultivation is taken up in over a thousand hectares of land here. As Dharwad received a couple of brisk showers, the pesticides used by the mango growers to protect the fruit have drained into the Kelgeri tank. This pesticide is highly poisonous and is a leading factor in the deaths of fish, he explained.</p><p><strong>Drainage water</strong></p><p>Hubballi-Dharwad Nagarika Parisara Vedike president Shankar Kumbi stated that this is for the second time in the last three years, such an incident has happened. For last three days, hundreds of fish have been dying. The only reason is that the drainage water from CB Nagar, Srinagar and Malmaddi is flowing freely into the water body, thus polluting the tank.</p><p>A gutter has been constructed along the Kelgeri tank near Srinagar to prevent the drainage water from flowing into the tank. But this gutter is choked for a long and hence, the wastewater is getting mixed with tank water thus affecting the aquatic creatures.</p><p>Meanwhile, University of Agricultural Sciences, which is the guardian of the tank, claimed that they are constantly cleaning the tank from water hyacinth but this is growing rapidly due to release of sewage water. They have sought the support of HDMC to free the Kelgeri tank from water hyacinth.</p>
<p>Dharwad: The century-old Kelgeri tank is once again in the news for the wrong reasons. If it was the contamination of water and large growth of water hyacinth brought infamy to the tank, this time it is the deaths of fish. For the last three days, hundreds of big and medium-sized fish have been dying, raising concerns about the ecosystem.</p><p>The fishermen who take up inland fishing at Kelgeri were in shock when they found hundreds of dead fish floating on the water. They immediately brought the issue to the notice of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and also the HDMC. However, the officials could not figure out the cause for the deaths of fish. The water sample has been sent for lab testing and the report is awaited, according to KSPCB officials.</p><p>However, the environmentalists who are striving hard to rejuvenate this waterbody attribute the reason for release of untreated sewage water into the tank along with high content of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) (NPK) and pesticides into the waterbody.</p><p>Nature Research Centre (NRC) convener Harshvardhan Sheelvanth stated that when the fish died last time, a research was taken up to know the reason. It was found that a high level of NPK in the wastewater is polluting the tank besides boosting the growth of water hyacinth, which has covered almost 40% of the tank.</p><p>NPK is a booster for water hyacinth and if this grows all over, the sunlight cannot penetrate into the water. Due to lack of sunlight, there is less dissolved oxygen generation. As fish breathe dissolved oxygen, any shortage leads to the deaths of the fish, he pointed out.</p><p>This apart, Kelgeri is known for mango groves and mango cultivation is taken up in over a thousand hectares of land here. As Dharwad received a couple of brisk showers, the pesticides used by the mango growers to protect the fruit have drained into the Kelgeri tank. This pesticide is highly poisonous and is a leading factor in the deaths of fish, he explained.</p><p><strong>Drainage water</strong></p><p>Hubballi-Dharwad Nagarika Parisara Vedike president Shankar Kumbi stated that this is for the second time in the last three years, such an incident has happened. For last three days, hundreds of fish have been dying. The only reason is that the drainage water from CB Nagar, Srinagar and Malmaddi is flowing freely into the water body, thus polluting the tank.</p><p>A gutter has been constructed along the Kelgeri tank near Srinagar to prevent the drainage water from flowing into the tank. But this gutter is choked for a long and hence, the wastewater is getting mixed with tank water thus affecting the aquatic creatures.</p><p>Meanwhile, University of Agricultural Sciences, which is the guardian of the tank, claimed that they are constantly cleaning the tank from water hyacinth but this is growing rapidly due to release of sewage water. They have sought the support of HDMC to free the Kelgeri tank from water hyacinth.</p>