Chemical effluents gushing out of Kazipally Industrial Estate, which houses 30 pharma companies, triggered the deaths of at least 23 lakh fish in Gandigudem Lake on city outskirts in the last 48 hours. The rotting fish sprawled on the banks and floating on the lake are worth Rs 10 crore in the market. Ameenpur police named top pharma companies, Mylan, Hetero Pharma, Aurobindo, SMS Pharma, Sriram and Vantec, as accused in the FIR registered on Thursday evening under Section 277 and Section 278 of IPC. Of 30 lakh fish, almost 7080% died after toxic chemicals were released into the 266-acre Gandigudem lake of Patancheru in Sangareddy district. After preliminary examination, Telangana Pollution Control Board officials confirmed chemical toxicity resulted in death of fish and lifted samples from the lake and a rivulet that connects industrial units to the lake. Ameenpur sub-inspector G Lalu Nayak, who is investigating the criminal case against the pharma firms, told TOI: “We lodged cases against five pharma companies following a complaint from fishermen cooperative society president Chinta Janardhan. The complainant alleged after heavy rain on October 3, pharma companies released chemical waste into the lake which killed fish. There are 30 industries in the cluster and we will investigate and book the guilty.” Fisherman cooperative society said most of the fish were Rohu that weighed between 2kg and 8kg. Janardhan told TOI: “We have been releasing seedlings into the lake for three years. A year ago, harvesting fish earned us around Rs 2 crore. Recently , we released 30 lakh seedlings of Rs 25 lakh. But all that has been washed away after pharma companies discharged waste.” Residents suspect pharma units and Kazipally panchay at authorities may have breached the already polluted Kazipally lake during rain on October 3, due to which discharges gushed downstream. Talking to TOI, Telangana Pollution Control Board Sangareddy regional officer Bhadra Girish said, “Preliminary findings suggest toxic chemicals from Kazipally Industrial area as cause of fishkill. We collected samples and are examining chemicals. Dissolved oxygen levels in the lake dipped due to natural reasons and as well as pollutants.” “Dissolved oxygen should be ideally around 4 milligram per litre. If it decreases to less than one milligram per litre, it results in death of aquatic fauna. Kazipally pharma units fall under RC Puram PCB region and the lake is in my region (Sangareddy),” said Girish. Fisheries society has more than 150 registered members and around 1000 families depend on the lake for livelihood.On Thursday , the entire lake looked greenish due to algae with dead fish floating. Dead fish were put on the lake bund. Former MPTC of the area P Raju said, “Water that entered the lake in last few days is red in colour and smells of chemicals. If we stand by the lake for a few minutes, our eyes itch. The industries are located 2 km away from the lake.We faced a similar situation two decades ago and were forced to agitate.” TIMES VIEW: Onus of monitoring industrial pollution lies with state government authorities like fisheries dept and pollution control board.Police may have registered an FIR based on a complaint from fishermen over the fish deaths in Gandigudem Lake in last 48 hours, but all state agencies should work in tandem to ensure industrial units, especially those engaged in pharma sector, don’t discharge waste into water bodies