Locals living around the Pasumamula Lake in Abdullapurmet at Hyderabad's outskirts were shocked to find hundreds of dead fish floating on the surface of the water body on Thursday.
According to media reports, several fishermen depend on the lake, to make a living.
Alleging that some unidentified persons released chemicals into the water body, Sanilla Srinivas, president of the Aqua Culture Society, said, “Fishes worth about Rs 60 lakh died in the incident.”
“Not only chemical waste, the lake has been polluted by sewage and other garbage,” he added.
The fishermen later filed a complaint with the Hayathnagar police.
"Chemical was mixed two days ago though we received the complaint only today. Subsequently, we have booked a case under Section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc., of any value or any animal of the value of Rs 50) and 277 (fouling water of public spring or reservoir) of the IPC," Kiran Kumar, sub-inspector of police, Hayathnagar told the Times of India.
This comes just months after a similar incident in Rampally lake, in Telangana's Medchal district, where several thousand fish, washed ashore on Sunday.
The Rampally lake too, had several fishermen dependent on it, to earn a livelihood.
Officials had said that the fish most likely died due to industrial pollution, as polluted effluents from various small scale and medium-scale factories in places like the Mallapur Industrial area and Nagaram, found their way into the Rampally lake.
Speaking to the media, Vice-President of the local Fishermen Cooperative Society, E Anjaiah, had said, "Water pollution is the main reason for this. Due to this, lots of fishermen have suffered losses. The authorities have to take action and provide compensation.”
He also asked authorities to ensure that such a situation did not repeat itself.
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