Mysterious death of thousands of fish in the Lotus Pond in Banjara Hills over the past four days has raised serious concerns about possible pollution in the lake famed for its idyllic beauty amid the hubbub of the metropolis.
Lotus Pond is one among the very few water bodies in the city which have preserved their pristine nature and been home to a variety of birds and biodiversity.
However, for the past four days, local residents and small vendors have been complaining of death of fish en masse with no apparent reason.
“Accompanying the fish casualties is unbearable stench emanating from the pond. We complained to the authorities, but no action has been taken so far,” said B. Srinivas, a local resident.
Rumours are rife about possible poisoning of the lake, and chemical pollutants being let into its waters on the sly.
On Wednesday, officials from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) and the Telangana Fisheries Department collected samples from the lake for analysis.
“Depletion of oxygen in the water is the most frequent cause of fish dying en masse. Excessive sewage in the water is one of the reasons for depleted oxygen, apart from other kinds of pollutants. The chance of chemical pollution is remote as the area is thickly populated,” said an official under the condition of anonymity.
Recent heavy rains in the upper catchment area might have brought in huge amounts of flood discharge into the lake, which could have disturbed the organic matter in the bottom most layer of the lake leading to depletion of oxygen and death of fish. However, if such is the case, it would be one-time event rather than for four continuous days as has happened in Lotus Pond, the official says.
As per the map prepared by the Irrigation Department, the lake gets inflows from its own catchment area, apart from the surplus discharge from Chiran lake located inside the KBR National Park.
