Hyderabad: Thousands of dead fish were found floating at the Pedda Cheruvu lake in Ramanthaput, Hyderabad on Wednesday, June 26.
Locals and fishermen, who fend their livelihood off the lake, found a large number of dead fish floating on the edge of the Pedda Cheruvu lake in Hyderabad. Videos of the incident surfaced on social media.
This is reportedly not the first time the incident has occurred. The locals, earlier this week also witnessed such an instance at the Hyderabad lake. However, the number was not so large. This time, locals were left worried. The total number of dead fish may have reached 1 crore, reported TOI.
The worried fishermen filed a complaint with the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) officials in Hyderabad, following which water from the lake was sampled and sent for testing.
Initially, chemical waste from factories and industries around the lake in Hyderabad was suspected to be the cause of the massive number of dead fish surfacing. Initial tests revealed that the dissolved oxygen levels were extremely low at 0.8 mg/l. These levels are well below the United Nations Environment Programme standard of 6 mg/l, indicating pollution.
Officials of the TGPCB stated that a medical college in the area consisted of a treatment plant and three industries in the area were green plants. Further, adding that the pollution control board officials in Hyderabad believed that fish in the lake were dying due to an excess feed of chemical-laden food, used for farming.
However, an investigation has been launched into the matter.
This is not the first time that dead fish have surfaced at a lake in Hyderabad. In December 2023, hundreds of dead fish were seen afloat on the Durgam Cheruvu lake in Hyderabad forcing the Telangana High Court to intervene.
The Telangana High Court on Friday, December 22 constituted a three-member bench for a probe into the conditions at the Durgam Cheruvu lake. The HC ensured not to include members of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) or the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB), expressing no faith in them and accusing them of being complicit in the deterioration of the Durgam Cheruvu lake.
