Almost every fish dies in Hyderabad lake, locals accuse pharma companies

Hyderabad: Almost every fish died in a lake situated outside Hyderabad, Gandigudem Cheruvu, and their bloated bodies washed ashore on Friday. The Telangana government noted the death of two lakh plus fishes in the lake, located in Ameenpur Mandal.

As per a report by The News Minute, locals allege that it was due to the industrial sewage, and named four pharma companies in their police complaint. The 266-acre lake, which is situated near the Kazipally Industrial area and Industrial Development Area (IDA), contaminated with pollutants for a while now, according to locals.

T Srinivas Yadav, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister said, “Fish worth Rs 1.5 crore died in the Gandigudem lake due to the release of pollution by local industries. While the government has been trying to promote the fisheries industry so that fishermen dependent on fishing could benefit, the industries released pollutants, resulting in the death of fish. The government will act tough against those responsible.”

In the span of just a two days, the lake witnessed a loss of 2.3 lakh fish, which is a blow to fisherman dependent upon the lake for fishing.

The Pollution Control Board (PCB) had reportedly found traces of chloromethane, a solvent used in the pharma industry, in the samples of the water and dead fish, collected from the lake.

“On Saturday, we received results of 10 of the 72 samples collected. They contained chloromethane, an industrial solvent used in pharma companies. The diluted traces of the chemical in the lake confirm contamination. As the lake is huge with a spread of 266 acres, dilution occurs quickly,” Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) member secretary P Satyanarayana Reddy told the Times of India.

The Ameenpur police registered a criminal case against five pharmaceutical companies, based on a complaint by Chinta Janardhan, Fishermen Cooperative Society president

“We have booked a case against Hetero Pharma, Aurobindo, Mylan, SMS Pharma, Vantec and Sriram under Section 277(Fouling water of public spring or reservoir) and Section 278 (Making atmosphere noxious to health) of the IPC,” Ameenpur sub-inspector G Lalu Nayak told TNM earlier.