Alleged pouring of poison in Karmganj's Longai River by miscreants; many fishes dead

In what maybe termed as a sensational news, locals are suspecting poison to be poured in Karimganj’s Longai river by miscreants as a complot which has created quite a stir in the area. Thousands of dead fishes are being rescued from the river. Some of the locals are busy picking fishes from the river, while others are panicking over the alleged pouring of poison in the river as drinking water in Karimganj town is supplied by purifying Longai river’s water.

This has worried the residents of Karimganj town. Many locals are picking fishes like rohu and common carp from the river and taking them home. According to the local community, this is the time of the year when miscreants pour poison in Longai river and this year was no exception to it.

Speaking to reporters a local who caught some fishes from the river said, “We are catching fishes since 5 am in the morning. I caught two Ghagot fishes weighing 1.5 kgs. The market price will be somewhere around Rs. 1,600-1,700. Someone poured poison in the river and that’s why the fishes are dying. We got the news at around 7:30 am.”

According to available information, Karimganj Police is yet to receive a formal complaint regarding the same. However, senior officers at the SP Office have taken cognisance of the issue. Meanwhile, the Department of Fisheries, Government of Assam has also noted the issue and sources in the department mentioned that officials have been asked to look into the matter.

These poisoning of lakes or usage of electrocution to as techniques of catching fish is very common in Barak Valley. The fishermen often commit the banned practices to fetch easy catches. However, these practices as stated by Divisional Forest Officer of Cachar after a similar incident was reported in his jurisdiction, are “detrimental to the ecology.” Not just that, Tejas Mariswamy has alerted that such poisoning of water bodies can be a common cause of cancer. Especially if kids consume the fish or the polluted water, it can cause harm to suffer a lifetime.