Despite the ban imposed for commercial fishing in Singanallur Lake which came effective from Tuesday, fishing is being continued in the water body, an Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone declared by the Coimbatore Corporation.
A field visit conducted by The Hindu on Thursday found men engaged in fishing in the lake in coracles. Fishes caught from the tank were also being sold at the stall on the side of Tiruchi Road.
Some of the persons living in the tank bund with whom The Hindu interacted said that they were not aware of the ban. They said that fishing continued as normal on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ban on commercial fishing in the lake was announced by S.P. Velumani, Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development, on Sunday. The aim of the ban was to safeguard the eco-system around the waterbody and protect native fresh water fishes.
The Minister had also released hatchlings of two groups of fresh water fishes into the lake to promote reintroduction of native fresh water fishes.
Sources said that the last contract given by authorities to catch fishes from the tank was suppose to expire by the end of December.
Also, with the ban coming into effect on Tuesday, the contract given by the authorities to catch fish from the lake has naturally become null.
Though The Hindu tried to reach an official in charge of monitoring fishing in the lake, the person was not available for comment. Though efforts were made to contact K. Vijayakarthikeyan, Corporation Commissioner, he was also not available for comment.