A team of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department rushed to Ghodasar lake on Sunday after receiving reports of the death of a large quantity of fish because of depleted oxygen level in the water. This was creating a health hazard for those living nearby. The AMC team removed the dead fish and also infused oxygen in the lake. Local residents said that a strong stench was emanating from the lake and that it had spread over half-a-kilometre radius around it. When the local people went to the lake to know the reason, they found hundreds of dead fish floating on the water surface. Harshad Patel, a social worker from the area, said that this is the third such incident in the past one-and-a-half years. “Removal of dead fish was essential as there was a possibility of some epidemic breaking out in the humid atmosphere. Hence, we urged the AMC officials to speed up the process,” Patel said. Dr Tejas Shah, deputy health officer, south zone, said that they suspect the phenomenon to be the result of oxygen deficiency in the lake water. “Against the general ratio of 6, the lake water had a ratio of 3.5 oxygen when we checked on Sunday. This was due to constant cloudy atmosphere for the past few days. However, we will collect water samples from the lake on Monday and send it for testing to be sure of the reason,” he said. Shah added that they have started infusing oxygen in the lake immediately to save the remaining fish and other aquatic animals in the lake. AMC officials said that it is to prevent oxygen level from falling and prevent death of aquatic life that they frequently instal fountains in Sabarmati river and Kankaria lake.