Srinagar

The world-famous Dal Lake, known for its beauty, is stinking and there are thousands of small fish found dead floating in parts of the lake. The local dwellers on Dal Lake say that they have never seen so many dead fish floating in the lake, while the authorities are saying it's the thermal stratification that has caused the deaths. 

Advertisment

The small fish numbering in thousands are dead and floating in various parts of the famous Dal Lake. The people living on the lake said that it was stinking all over due to the dead fish. Some residents say that they have never witnessed such a number of dead fish in the lake. 

''The small fish have died and it's stinking all over. Fish used to die but they used to be few and mostly big ones, this time it's the small fish that have died in huge numbers. I have not seen this in my lifetime. God knows how these fish have died and now the authorities should look into it. Cleaning has been happening for two years, we have no idea how this has happened. If they died due to machines used to de-weeding, they should stop the machines and if it's any chemical, then they should answer how these fishes have died. It's a problem for everyone, especially the tourists, as the Dal Lake is stinking,'' said Abdul Rashid, a local. 

However, the experts blame the growing pollution for the death of the fish. The water quality of Dal Lake has deteriorated over the last many years. The authorities have been cleaning the lake continuously, but the water quality has not improved yet. Experts say it will take a few more years to clean up the full lake. 

Advertisment

''We call this phenomenon fish kill. Wherever there is a stagnant water body, lakes or wetlands, due to pollution load or organic load, there is a natural phenomenon that there will be oxygen depletion due to which fish can die. When the oxygen concentration falls, the fish will die. There are many reasons, it's a polluted water body, and this generally does not happen in clean water bodies. It is always found in those water bodies which have pollution. Dal has a lot of organic waste and a lot of weeds; decomposition increases in summer. Pollution is the main cause,'' said Dr Feroz Ahmad Bhat, Dean, Faculty of Fisheries at SKUAST-K. 

The authorities looking after Dal Lake say that this mass death of fish happened due to thermal stratification — a change in the temperature at different depths in the lake. They are saying it is a normal phenomenon and people should not panic. 

''We have done the preliminary analysis and found that it's the thermal stratification which has caused it. The lake has a temperature gradient, the lower layers of the lake sometimes have less oxygen due to which this phenomenon happens. There is no need to panic. It's an annual affair. It happened last year and a few years ago it happened on a massive scale in Nigeen Lake. No big fish has been affected. We have taken the samples and we are doing a detailed investigation to know the exact reason, but there is no need to panic. It also happens due to the temperature variation,'' said Bashir Ahmad Bhat, VC, Lakes and Conservation Management Authority (LCMA).

Advertisment

The authorities are now waiting for the final results to come to know the exact cause of the death of the fish in the lake. 

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.