Days after a large number of dead fish were found floating in Bata river at Balijhara in Paradip, a similar incident was reported from Gohira Dam in Tileibani block of the district on Saturday evening. Thousands of dead fish were found floating in the 236 sq km dam across river Gohira, a tributary of river Brahmani. Fishermen, who had gone fishing deep inside the dam reservoir, revealed that they spotted a large number of dead fish floating in the water. Something similar had happened a week ago. However, after the sight on Saturday, the worried fishermen informed the matter to Gohira Dam Matsyajibi Samiti president Prasanna Patel and secretary Satyanand Singh, who, in turn, brought it to the notice of Collector Purna Chandra Pathy on Sunday. Acting on the directions of the Collector, Deogarh Tehsildar and Sub-Collector in-charge Subrat Nayak, Assistant Fisheries Officer Hrusikesh Bhuiyan Mahakud and Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Sushil Kumar Kar visited the dam and took stock of the situation. While the reason behind the large-scale death of fish inside the dam reservoir has not yet been ascertained, a team from Regional Office of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), comprising Deputy Environment Engineer Ramesh Ekka and Assistant Environment Scientist Rashmi Rekha Pradhan collected samples of the dead fish for laboratory test. The district administration has asked the fishermen community not to catch, consume and sell dead fish. Meanwhile, the Fisheries department has also collected samples of dead fish and sent those to Sambalpur for chemical analysis.
2016, The New Indian Express.