Fish death of fish in Assam

The discovery of thousands of fish in the Brahmaputra River that flows from Tibet into Assam Valley has left environmentalists and officials baffled.

Guwahati, Dec.20 : The discovery of thousands of fish in the Brahmaputra River that flows from Tibet into Assam Valley has left environmentalists and officials baffled.

The dead fish have washed ashore in Brahamputra River in Assam since early this week. They were discovered on the river bank in Guwahati.

C.K.Bhuiyan, a senior District official in Guwahati had stated earlier that an investigation was ordered by the State Government.

Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB) had asked all oil refineries in the State, at the beginning of the year, to achieve "zero pollution" levels by December 31, failing which could lead to their closure.

Investigation has begun into the unnatural phenomena as the Pollutionontrol Board and other agencies have collected water samples from the riveror inquiry.

Officials say that it could either be a case of poisoning due to water pollution or the outcome of an explosion carried out by some fishermen to catch fish in large numbers.

Suspecting poisoning a distraught local resident Tapan Roy said, "We saw the fish dying. It seems the water is poisonous. We use this water for drinking. It is really bad".

Meanwhile, unmindful of the consequences the local people are busy collecting the dead fish for meals.

The police had to intervene to stop people from making food preparations from the dead fish as it could possibly result in poisoning.

The Pollution Control Board of Assam, Forensic Laboratory, Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the Directorate of Fisheries has been asked to probe the matter.

The district administration has also urged people not to consume river fish till the cause of their death is ascertained.

ANI