PARADIP: Thousands of dead fish were found floating in a water body in Kapil Zore here on Wednesday triggering fear among locals and fishermen. Samples from the water body were collected by officials of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and sent for examination to ascertain the cause of the mass deaths.
However, no officials from the local administration or Paradip Municipality have yet visited the spot. Locals said the fish must have died due to heavy pollution in the water bodies around Paradip.
Release of industrial effluent into Bata and Kaudia rivers and Atharbanki creek have resulted in the deaths of fish but little has been done to address the issue, they alleged. They also attributed it to poisoning. Poison is often used by traders to kill the fishes in huge quantities in the water bodies. Such incidents have been reported from the town earlier.
Assistant engineer of OSPCB Twinkle Mohanty said a team of OSPCB has collected samples from two water bodies and sent it to a laboratory for testing. The cause of the fishes’ death has not yet been ascertained, she said.