20 tonnes fish found dead in Penamaluru lake in Vijayawada

VIJAYAWADA: Thousands of fish were found dead at Perantalamma tank in Penamaluru Nagar panchayat here on Monday evening. Officials who reached the spot said around 20 tonnes of fish worth 30 lakh were floating dead in the tank.

Panchayat officials said they had leased the tank to a person, who had cultivated fish there over 12 times. "The dead fish had been floating in the tank for almost two days and most of it had got rotten. The slow pace of cleaning by panchayat officials is causing problems for us. The government should take necessary action," said Venkanna Chowdary, a farmer.

Panchayat officials deployed special teams to clear the fish and said it will take at least two more days to clear the tank.

Meanwhile, speculations are rife among the villagers and the leaseholder that some unknown miscreants mixed poison in the pond to kill the fish that were ready to be harvested in a month. They alleged that mosquito killing liquid was mixed in the water. Penamaluru police swung into action and have launched a probe.