NEW DELHI: Several dead fish were spotted along the Yamuna near Burari in north Delhi on Wednesday morning, raising concerns over water quality and possible industrial pollution.
Residents of nearby Islamnagar Colony and Eidgah Colony collected fish found along the riverbank. Wildlife experts and environmental activists flagged untreated industrial effluents and low dissolved oxygen levels as possible causes, though the exact reason remains unconfirmed.
Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), said mass fish deaths are usually reported in summer when high temperatures reduce oxygen levels in water.
Calling the latest incident unusual after the monsoon, Rawat warned that recurring fish mortality in the relatively cleaner stretch upstream of Wazirabad threatened the river’s remaining aquatic biodiversity.
He said restricted environmental flows and untreated effluents entering drains from Haryana could be contributing to the problem. He cited reports of industrial waste entering Drain No. 2 in Panipat and earlier fish deaths in the Baghpat stretch of the Yamuna.
Rawat called for stricter pollution control and adequate environmental flows, questioning the effectiveness of multi-crore river-cleaning efforts by the Delhi and Haryana governments. The incident has also raised concerns ahead of Chhath, when thousands of devotees are expected to visit the river. Contact with polluted water could pose health risks to those entering it.
In a post on X on Thursday, the New Delhi Nature Society said hundreds, possibly thousands, of fish were found dead near Burari on October 14. The group said the cause remained unknown, while locals alleged that chemical waste was being discharged from Haryana through canals. It also questioned whether the deaths could be linked to acid rain reported on October 12.
In May, hundreds of fish died at Sanjay Lake in east Delhi amid a heatwave and receding water levels, renewing concerns over aquatic life in the capital’s water bodies.
