5 tonnes of fish die in Ulsoor Lake

BANGALORE: From being a clear, tranquil water body, the recently restored Ulsoor Lake has become a sea of dead fish. An estimated 5 tonnes of fish were found floating across the 90-acre lake since Sunday. Home Guards manning the lake and fishermen said chemicals flushed into the lake, following a cleaning of the BCC-owned Ulsoor swimming pool, caused the tragedy.
But BCC officials trotted out the usual excuse: they are yet to ascertain the cause.
"Among other reasons, the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) level in the water may have gone down due to the approaching summer. A mishap of this extent could have occurred as the lake is over-populated with fish," said DC (East) N. Jairam.
However, considering that the ecosystem in the lake was restored only recently, and all the sewerage inlets have been plugged, there is no reason why the BOD level should dip to such low levels, feel environmentalists.
Experts from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Fisheries are testing water samples and the fish from the lake to ascertain the reason and the extent of contamination.
"The report will be out on Thursday," they said. If the pool authorities are found guilty, then action will be taken against them, said Jayaram.
Fish death has come as a setback for the lake which was only recently restored by the BCC at a cost of Rs 9 crore. The Ulsoor swimming pool, owned by the BCC and managed by a private firm, has been closed for over a month for repairs.
On Saturday, the pool authorities had used a strong mix of acids and chemicals to ''clean up and create hygiene'' in the pool, said sources.
Later, the chemicals were drained out of the pool and into the lake, sources added.
The devastation in the lake is said to have come to light with morning walkers and others reporting a number of dead fish in the lake. The true extent of damage became apparent only on Wednesday when scores of dead fish began surfacing all around the lake.
Tonnes of bright silver catlas, common karp and grass carp have died raising an unbearable stink around the lake. Parts of the lake are contoured with a thick film of acid/ chemicals.
A local fish contractor and his men were found removing the dead fish at regular intervals and burying them by the lakeside in order to reduce the stench. The distress on the lake is palpable — fishes wriggling on the water surface at one moment, and found still and dead at another. Kites were hovering around to scavenge on the fishes.
Gaping into the polluted waters, fish contractor A.K. Ahmed said: "I have invested in lakhs to get this contract but I have been netting mostly dead fish for the last few days. I have incurred untold loss."