KMDA team inspects Rabindra Sarobar lake after dead fish found

kolkata: A ten-member team, comprising senior officials from Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and technicians from the state Fisheries department, visited Rabindra Sarobar lake on Monday afternoon after a number of dead fish were found floating in the water body in the morning. A foul smell emanated from the place where the dead fishes were found.

According to KMDA sources, soon after learning about death of fish Atri Bhattacharya, principal secretary of state Fisheries department, gave directions for a field visit.

"The Fisheries team has collected water samples from some locations and will conduct tests to assess various parameters of the water. On Tuesday morning, a team will visit the spot and will collect dead fish sample and test the same at its laboratory at Pailan to ascertain the actual cause of death. Soil sample will also be collected for conducting laboratory tests," a senior KMDA official said.

KMDA, which happens to be the custodian of Rabindra Sarobar—the national artificial lake that stretches over an area of 3.5 km— has already started discharging mixture of calcium oxide and potassium permanganate into the water from October 21 for artificially increasing the dissolved oxygen level.

This exercise proves effective only in sunny weather. The weather has again turned cloudy from Monday afternoon and there was intermittent shower in parts of the city.

A KMDA official said the sustained cloud cover reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in water and fish often die because of oxygen deficiency. This behavior of fish is common in any water body when the sun is not witnessed for a long time period.

KMDA is all set to install two aerators in the Dhakuria side of the Lake within one or two days while the repair of the fountain in Tollygunge Lake side has already started. A few of the small fountains have already been repaired, which contribute towards increasing the dissolved oxygen level in water. "We are in the process of procuring some more aerators that will be placed at strategic locations in Dhakuria Lake side,"a senior KMDA official said.

KMDA is developing its own infrastructure for more frequent measurement of dissolved oxygen level at Rabindra Sarobar, so that prompt interventions can be made in case of similar situations.