Scores of dead fish float on Kashmir Dal Lake, fisheries dept initiates probe

It is being alleged that an unregulated and unscientific cleaning of the lake weeds ahead of the G20 meetings in Srinagar few weeks ago has led to the large scale death of fish.

Srinagar: Thousands of dead fish were found floating on the Dal Lake on Friday raising concern among the experts while the local residents blamed it on improper cleaning of the waterbody. The fisheries department has initiated a probe and collected samples from the lake to find out the scientific facts behind the large-scale death of fish.

Surprised to find so many dead fish floating on the lake, locals alleged that the waterbody has got polluted due to dumping of wastes. Experts said that there may be several reasons behind the death, including temperature changes in water levels and lack of oxygen.

"We are seeing dead fish floating on the lake since last week. The water is getting polluted as waste water from residential areas is dumped into the lake," Abdul Rashid, a local resident said. He said that the authorities are claiming to have cleaned the lake but the fact is that the lake always remains polluted, he added.

"It is very shocking to see thousands of dead fish floating on the lake. Authorities must look into it and start some remedial measures," Ali Muhammad, another local resident, said.

Some experts cited the reason behind the large-scale death of fish to thermal stratification, which implies temperature changes at different water levels. Feroz Ahmad Bhat, dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology attributed these deaths to low oxygen concentration in the lake. "Pollution and the proliferation of weeds can decrease the oxygen level in the lake which may have caused the deaths," he said.

Again, few have also blamed unregulated and unscientific cleaning of the lake weeds ahead of the G20 meetings in Srinagar few weeks ago. The three-day G20 session was held between May 22 and 24 in SKICC, which is located on the bank of the lake. The authorities had cleaned the lake on a massive scale and de-weeded it by using heaving machines to give it a clean look, locals said.