Dead fish seen floating in Periyar river, protesting farmers throw rotting fish at Kerala PCB compound

TNIE online desk

The day dawned presenting a grizzly sight for the people residing in the industrial stretch of Kerala's Ernakulam district, comprising places like Edayar, Eloor, Varapuzha, Kothad, Kadamakudy, Cheranallore and Kottuvally, with tonnes of dead fish floating in their fish farms and Periyar river nearby.

(Photo | T P Sooraj, EPS)

Though fish kills have been common over the past several years because of the pollutants released by industries along the banks of the river, the magnitude of the fish kills this time is huge.

(Photo | T P Sooraj, EPS)

The fish farmers’ losses have run into crores of rupees. Most of the affected farmers are those who had taken up cage fish farming buoyed by the subsidy that the state government had promised to promote captive fish farming.

(Photo | T P Sooraj, EPS)

Irked by the failure of Kerala Pollution Control Board (PCB) to take action against factories emptying effluents into the river, fish farmers along with people's representatives of the affected areas laid siege to the PCB engineer's office at Eloor in Ernakulam.

(Photo | Express)
(Photo | Express)

The protesters, who had gathered before the gates of the Eloor PCB office, were so agitated by the lackadaisical attitude of the PCB officials that they even threw the rotting fish into the office compound.

(Photo | T P Sooraj, EPS)
Irate farmers throw rotting fish into Kerala pollution control board compound