Silvester D’Souza

Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP)

Kundapur, Apr 19: Fish and other creatures in the Souparnika river that flows beside the famous Kollur Mookambika temple are dying due to the scarcity of water in the river.

The water in the river dries up during the summers in April every year. The locals and devotees witness different varieties of dead fish stacking up in the corners of the river. This has caused the foul smell of dead fishes to stink up the environment. Locals are worried that this could likely give rise to an epidemic.

The water that flows down from the Western Ghats has valuable plants that join the river. People believe that water is the combination of 64 water bodies. There is also a belief that skin diseases are cured if one has bathed in the water, due to which the devotees usually take a bath in the river. As the river is getting dried up, the water which is left behind after people take bath is collected in pits instead of flowing.

The decrease in the flow of water and since a dam is constructed on the banks of Souparnika river, fishes die in the water that is getting warmer due to the sun.

As the water and trash mix chemical reactions are caused which leads to the death of fish. The unclean water will also be a danger to the forest animals that come to the river to quench their thirst.