ALARM OVER FISH KILL IN TIRUR RIVER

ALARM OVER FISH KILL IN TIRUR RIVER

People living on the banks of the Tirur river in Tirur municipality and neighbouring grama panchayats raised an alarm on Friday,8^th June,2012, following a massive fish kill in the river.Tonnes of different varieties of fish were found floating dead in the river since Thursday. The exact cause of the fish kill is, however, yet to be ascertained.District Collector M.C. Mohandas cautioned the people of the area against consuming the fish from the river. He also warned them against venturing out into the river.Mr. Mohandas directed the State Pollution Control Board and the Kerala Water Authority to examine the water and find the reason for the fish kill.Revenue Divisional Officer, Tirur, visited some areas of the fish kill and took stock of the situation on Friday.

Research scholars from the Department of Aquaculture and Fishery Microbiology at M.E.S. Ponnani College examined the dead fish and the water. S. Suresh Kumar, fishery expert and research guide, said almost all species of fish found in the river were affected. Among them were different kinds of catfish, mullets, gopis, barbs, and pearl spot. A large number of prawns were also found dead.Dr. Suresh said a sudden increase of pollutants in the river could be the reason for the fish kill, which was reported in a stretch of more than 12 km from Mangalam to Thalakkalathur.Places such as Pariyapuram, Vettam, Tirur, Pachattiri, and Cheriyamundam were the worst affected. Noor Mohammed, an environmentalist, who runs an outdoor studio called Noor Lake at Pachattiri, said it was due to the stagnation of polluted water following the construction of a regulator-cum-bridge at Koottayi. He said algae had been found in large amounts in the river, and the water had turned green last week. “We had stopped fishing and consuming the fish from the river long back because of the increase in pollution,” he said.The regulator at Koottayi was opened two days ago allowing saline water to enter the river.Mr. Mohammed said the sudden gush of water after several months could have stirred up the pollutants in the water and caused the harm.

At a meeting called by the Tirur Municipality six years ago, Mr. Mohammed had voiced concern against regulating the tidal flow in the river. “Blocking the tidal flow of the river is dangerous. We should never do it,” he said.Dr. Suresh too supported the concerns raised by Mr. Mohammed. “It must have been a sudden surge of pollutants with the opening up of the shutters. The pollutants were remaining stagnant for long,” said Dr. Suresh.According to the researchers of the Department of Aquaculture and Fishery Microbiology, excessive pollution might have reduced the amount of oxygen in the water, leading to en mass death of fish.The gills of the dead fish were found blackened. “We presume that it was due to sewage pollution. And it is high time that we did something to save this river and its aquatic life,” said Dr. Suresh.Local people said it was for the first time in recent decades that the Tirur river witnessed such a fish kill.Pollution Control Board and Kerala Water Authority to examine reasons

Prof. John Kurakar