Dead fish in Satluj again raise stink

A local said some prawns were also seen along with the fish. SDM Lakhmir Singh said he visited the spot along with chief personnel manager of National Fertilizers Limited,Kuldip Chand,and found only small fish. According to locals,large ones had been picked up by then.

He said only the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) could ascertain the real cause of death.

When told by The Indian Express about the incident,PPBC member secretary Babu Ram said he would soon get details about it. He said they have been doing regular monitoring and have also got studies conducted in the past,but were still to reach a conclusion on the reasons.

Karunesh Garg,Mohali PPCB Environmental Engineer,who visited the spot,said there could be various reasons for the death,like discharge of municipal waste,effluents from Himachal Pradesh and local industries or a “biological phenomenon”. He said,incidentally,National Fertilizers Limited’s plant was also recommissioned after a couple of months,but they were at present not sure of the actual cause.

He said they have collected samples and the result of the tests would be out in a couple of days. Garg added that faulty sewage treatment plants of industries could have also led to the casualty.

Nangal-based environmentalist G S Chatha and NGO Jagriti Sanstha said,for the last five years,PPCB has not been able to find the cause of deaths. The state government should unbundle the pollution control board like the power board to streamline its functioning,