While conspiracy theories make rounds, the bitter truth is that Kashmir's lakes are dying both literally and figuratively
Nigeen Lake Fish Bloodbath: Govt blames oxygen depletion
Srinagar: With lakhs of dead fish floating on the surface of Nigeen Lake, authorities here insist they died due to depletion of oxygen level in the lake.
“Even today the oxygen level in the lake was very low. This morning oxygen level in the lake was 2 ppm where as it should have been 6 ppm. Some fish varieties cannot tolerate sudden depletion and they die,” said Director Fisheries Showkat Ali.
He said wavering temperature had adverse affect on different zones in the lake leading to depletion in the oxygen level.
“This happens when a water body is loaded with high quantity of nutrients along with flow of large quantity of untreated sewage, the growth of macrophytes is accordingly very high,” he said.
“When in summer high temperature spell continues the oxidation of nutrients is also very high resulting depletion of oxygen levels in lake. Secondly, due to sudden fall in temperature some adverse effect must have been caused on the fish life,” Ali said.
Nigeen has two fish varieties. One is called common carp and other is trash fish. The trash fish is not consumed by humans but they are in abundance in the lake. It is the trash fish that has faced large scale mortality.
Throughout the day de-weeding machines were cleaning the lake from lakhs of dead fish.
A team of scientists from Centre for Research and Development (CORD) University of Kashmir described the incident as bloodbath. They said they might have died due to sudden fall of temperature. However, they did not rule out human hand in the tragedy.
Conspiracy theories are also floating in the lake along with dead fish.
“I think they might have died because of electric current. Somewhere, high voltage electric line might have fallen in the lake last evening killing both small and big fish in such large number,” said a houseboat owner.
(Kashmir Times)
Nigeen Lake Fish Bloodbath: Govt blames oxygen depletion
Srinagar: With lakhs of dead fish floating on the surface of Nigeen Lake, authorities here insist they died due to depletion of oxygen level in the lake.
“Even today the oxygen level in the lake was very low. This morning oxygen level in the lake was 2 ppm where as it should have been 6 ppm. Some fish varieties cannot tolerate sudden depletion and they die,” said Director Fisheries Showkat Ali.
He said wavering temperature had adverse affect on different zones in the lake leading to depletion in the oxygen level.
“This happens when a water body is loaded with high quantity of nutrients along with flow of large quantity of untreated sewage, the growth of macrophytes is accordingly very high,” he said.
“When in summer high temperature spell continues the oxidation of nutrients is also very high resulting depletion of oxygen levels in lake. Secondly, due to sudden fall in temperature some adverse effect must have been caused on the fish life,” Ali said.
Nigeen has two fish varieties. One is called common carp and other is trash fish. The trash fish is not consumed by humans but they are in abundance in the lake. It is the trash fish that has faced large scale mortality.
Throughout the day de-weeding machines were cleaning the lake from lakhs of dead fish.
A team of scientists from Centre for Research and Development (CORD) University of Kashmir described the incident as bloodbath. They said they might have died due to sudden fall of temperature. However, they did not rule out human hand in the tragedy.
Conspiracy theories are also floating in the lake along with dead fish.
“I think they might have died because of electric current. Somewhere, high voltage electric line might have fallen in the lake last evening killing both small and big fish in such large number,” said a houseboat owner.
(Kashmir Times)
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