Lakhs fishes die in Indore due to civic body's folly

INDORE: Lakhs of fishes have died in century-old Bilawali water tank after Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) miscalculated monsoons are released water from the reservoir three days ago.
The stench emanating from the dead fish made people travelling on Khandwa road, around two km from the tank, nauseous, attracting their attention to the natural tragedy.
“We had opened three valves to drain the water out on July 5, when the monsoon arrived and Indore witnessed rainfall. Apparently, we miscalculated. Since then rainfall has stopped,” IMC water works department head Balram Verma told TOI.
Bilawali tank, spread across 600 acre, had been a rich habitat of fishes in last couple of years with plenty of water stored in the reservoir. With fishes’ population rising, birds had also started arriving at the pond, attracting large number of nature lovers.
But with water level falling drastically, fishes were left gasping in the muddy water.
Verma passed on the buck to fishermen in the area, who he claimed took advantage of the low water levels and ventured in with their nets. “With fishermen entering the pond, the water became muddy, thus killing the fish,” he said.
But nature lovers termed his claims absurd. “Is Bilawali tank a bucket that would turn muddy with a few fishermen entering the area? And how could fishing be carried out in the tank against wishes of the authorities?” said Bhalu Mondhe, president of NGO, The Nature Volunteers.
“The IMC is squarely to blame for the tragedy. People at the helm of affairs at the civic body don’t know about conservation of nature,” he alleged.
The Bilawali tank was built by former ruler of Malwa Tukojirao Holkar. The construction began in 1906 and was completed in 1916. The IMC had celebrated 100 years of the pond with pomp and show.
Mayor Malini Gaud had participated in the function at the pond. The celebrations involved distribution of fish feed through drones as a gesture to promote pisciculture after introduction of the fishes.
The efforts made in last three years seem to have gone down the drain with the deaths of fishes at such a large scale.