Guwahati hawkers collect dead fish from Dighalipukhri to sell; pictures go viral

GUWAHATI: The mysterious death of fish in Guwahati's iconic Dighalipukhuri pond seems to have come as a blessing in disguise for the fish hawkers in the area who gathered en masse in the morning to gather the dead fish floating on the pond much to the disgust of onlookers.

With scant regard for the safety of prospective customers, these hawkers crossed the boundary of the park and proceeded to take the fish, presumably in an effort to sell. Some locals of the area too joined the hawkers and took home fish for their consumption.

Now, the Dighalipukhuri area is frequented by fitness enthusiasts in the morning hours and some of them managed to catch the wrongdoers red-handed. Somewhat worryingly, the Uzanbazar ghat, one of Guwahati's biggest fish markets, is barely a kilometer away, sparking concerns that some of the potentially corrupted fish could have found its way to the market.

A large number of dead fish were found floating in the waterbody since Saturday night following which the Assam Fisheries Minister Parimal Suklabaidya had directed officials of his department to visit the site and ascertain the exact reason.

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Therefore, it stands to reason that the fish collected by the hawkers is not exactly 'fresh' and could compromise people's health.

A section of netizens, potentially to alert people about the danger, has been sharing pictures of the hawkers collecting the dead fish. These shocking pictures are now becoming a viral phenomenon in the early hours of the day in the city.

Environmental degradation leading to depletion of dissolved oxygen level in a pond has claimed the lives of hundreds of fish in Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati, Assam Fisheries Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said on Sunday.

[caption id="attachment_95190" align="alignleft" width="464"] The fish have been floating on the pond since Saturday[/caption]

After examination of samples of the dead fish and the Dighalipukhuri or long pond in Assamese, the officials found that depletion of dissolved oxygen in the waterbody coupled with high organic load were the causes behind the mass fish deaths.

"Fish mortality was due to sudden dip in oxygen level and high organic load in the tank. Departmental officers after examination found that the deaths were not due to poisoning, but because of environmental degradation," Suklabaidya said.

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