Hundreds of fish die in the Banganga tank due to dumping of excess food and other items of rituals

@nag228

Mumbai: Hundreds of fish were found dead in the historic Banganga tank at Walkeshwar. According to the locals, the fish in the lake died due to dumping of excess food and other items put in the tank water during performing the ritual rites on the occasion of the Pitru Paksha Shraddha.

There are hundreds of different types of fish in the Banganga tank. On Saturday morning about 500 fish in the tank were found dead and floating on the surface water of the pond.

Due to Pitru Paksha Shraddha, many religious ceremonies were held on the banks of Banganga. At this time many devotees offer flour, oil, turmeric etc. used in the ritual in the water of the lake.  A local resident said that they suspected that the fish must have consumed excess food and also the other things such as turmeric, oil etc. due to which the fish could have died.  

The lake is filled to the brim. However, the level of water went down to 10 to 12 steps of the tank this morning. Also, the valves were open to remove excess water.

“The oxygen supply to the fish inside the water was disrupted due to depletion of water in the pond. It is also possible that the fish may have died due to the heat of the sun,” said a local who spoke on conditions of anonymity. 

There are big fishes in the Banganga pond weighing around 5 kgs. As fish died in huge quantities the residents in the area now have to deal with the stench of dead fish in the pond. The pond should be maintained and cleaned regularly. The corporation should pay attention to this,” remarked Akshay Upade a local Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party worker. 

When TheNews21 tried to contact Assistant Commissioner Prashant Gaikwad of the ward, he was not available for comment. However, in the afternoon BMC workers removed the dead fishes and cleaned the tank.