The recent death of a large number of fish at Saravana Poigai, the temple tank of Subramaniaswamy temple at Tirupparankundram, was caused mainly due to low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, reveals the findings submitted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Fisheries department.
Executive Officer of the temple M. Ramasamy said that the dead fish floating in the pond were being removed everyday since Friday morning. “But, the quantum of dead fish removed on Tuesday was considerably lower,” he added.
An official from the TNPCB said that there must be a minimum dissolved oxygen level of 4mg/ litre in the water for healthy survival of fish. “But, from the samples listed from the pond, it was found that the dissolved oxygen levels were between 1mg/litre and 2 mg/litre. We are continuing with our investigation to find out why the dissolved oxygen levels reduced in the pond,” said the official.
Mr. Ramasamy also said that the findings revealed that the fish density at the pond was also higher.
An official from the Fisheries department said that the main issue was that the water in the pond was stagnant as there was no outlet point. “The water is also severely contaminated as devotees and residents washed their clothes using detergents with powerful chemicals. Previously, thousands of fish were found dead in 2016 at the opnd. Hence, we have suggested the officials to not grow fish in the pond,” he added.
He said that they have increased the number of motors to four as these will help improve dissolved oxygen levels in the water. “The pond is also currently closed for public use,” he added.