Quintals of dead fish were found on the banks of Bahuda river in areas under Chikiti block of Ganjam on Wednesday.The fish, oil sardines, were spotted by locals on patches near the confluence of Bahuda and the sea at Sunapur. As rotting fish smell spread in the area, villagers informed the Ganjam administration.
Sources said at least 100 fishing boats reached the shore with their catch in the last two days. Unable to find buyers for their huge haul of oil sardines, the fishing boats dumped the fish in the river. Most of the dead fish drifted to the banks of Bahuda.
A senior officer of the Fisheries department said such fish dumping is not new. A similar incident took place near Gopalpur Port between 2016 and 2017.It was suspected that the large-scale fish death was caused by release of poisonous chemical substances in the sea.Bahuda river merges with the Bay of Bengal at Sunapur. Many fishermen of the village depend on the fish at the river mouth for their livelihood.