PARADIP: Thousands of dead fish found floating in Bata river in Paradip have triggered panic among locals and the fishermen's community.
Locals alleged the fish may have died due to pollution caused by the discharge of waste into the river by slums nearby. Instances of dead fish floating in water bodies have also been reported from Kapil creek, Kaudia river and Atharbanki creek in the town.
A team of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) officials led by deputy environmental engineer Twinkle Mohanty have rushed to the spot and collected water and dead fish samples from five locations in the river. The samples have been sent to a local laboratory for testing to ascertain the cause of death of fish.
Regional officer, OSPCB Paradip Puskar Chandra Behera said preliminary investigation suggests the release of waste and effluent from local slums like Balijhara and PPL gate colonies into water bodies suffocated the fish. The cause of death of fish will be ascertained after the report is obtained from the laboratory, he added.