The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BMP plans to let more fish into Ulsoor Lake

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 10, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

BMP plans to let more fish into Ulsoor Lake

By Afshan Yasmeen

A file photo of a dead fish being removed from the Ulsoor Lake following the fish kill in January this year.

BANGALORE, APRIL 9. Two months after the fish kill in Ulsoor Lake, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) is planning to introduce more fish into the lake.

Sources in the BMP told The Hindu on Saturday that the civic body is consulting experts from the Fisheries Department of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) on the suitable fish variety.

This follows a proposal from the Bangalore District Fish Production Processing and Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd., which has taken the lake waters on lease for one year by paying Rs. 2.5 lakhs to the BMP.

Over 61,500 fish of four different species were introduced into the lake in November 2003. The agreement, signed on December 24, 2004, permitted the society to breed fish for commercial purpose. But the society has to seek BMP's permission to introduce more fish into the lake.

The society secretary, R. Subbaiah, confirmed that they have sought permission for introducing more fish into the lake.

Extension of lease

"After the fish kill, the quantity of fish in the lake has come down drastically. Except for the African Catfish, which is a wild fish and is not edible, we cannot harvest any other fish. So we have also asked for a six-month extension of the lease period," he said.

He explained that it is ideal to breed fish only in June-July. "It will take at least six months for the fish to grow and by that time the one year lease period will come to an end. So, we have asked for an extension," he said.

Though experts in the Fisheries Department of the UAS said that the fish kill in January could have been caused by "flash discharge" of effluents into the lake, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, which tested the water samples revealed that the dissolved oxygen level in the lake had depleted considerably.

The BMP, however, has neither examined the reason for pollution of the lake nor sought any explanation from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in this regard for letting effluents into the lake, the Ulsoor corporator, M. Saravana, said.

Maintenance

Corporators, cutting across party lines, alleged that after spending crores of rupees on restoring the Ulsoor Lake, BMP officials had failed to maintain it. The Fisheries Research Officer and Head of Fisheries Research Station of UAS, C. Vasudevappa, told The Hindu that "if the lake water is normal, there is no need to introduce more fish."

Pointing out that the increase in the quantity of fish in the lake could also result in depletion of dissolved oxygen level, he said: "The BMP should ensure that the dissolved oxygen level is maintained. Care should be taken to check flow of effluents into the lake," he said.

Prof. Vasudevappa suggested that aerators (which keep stirring the water) should be installed to keep the lake water clean. These measures are necessary to enhance the water quality in the lake and avoid recurrence of such incidents, he added.

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