Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, May 20: Thousands of fishes were found to have dead in Udyavar rivulet on Thursday May 19, as a result of pollution caused by the direct discharge of untreated effluents by the effluents mixed with oil released by the fish mills here.

The fish mills operating here are operating round the clock since the last some days because of large scale supply of sardines received by them. Hot effluents mixed with oil are released into the rivulet by these mills, causing the death of fishes on a large scale. Shoals of certain kinds of fishes are unable to live in polluted water, and hot water released into the rivulet makes it impossible for them to breathe oxygen in. Layers of oil floating on the surface of river water stop oxygen from reaching inside the water. The locals have held fish mills, which are expected to discharge their effluents far away, of failing in their duty to stop water pollution.

In the meanwhile, reports from Kundapur said that a large tract of agricultural land at Hemmady on the bank of river Sauparnika has been turned into a stinking tract. The farmers do not know the exact reason for this phenomenon, although they suspect that either the effluents brought in by the first rain or the chemicals used for prawns culture that were washed into their fields, have done the damage. As a result, the bottoms of the paddy plants and green grass have started to rot.

The locals are hopeful that agricultural experts or scientists will verify and find out the reason for this strange development.