Scores of dead fish found along Boisar coast as lockdown restrictions on industries ease

A zoologist has attributed to the deaths due to heavy pollution of discharge of effluents from the several chemical units lining the Navapur coast

Scores of dead Indian mullet fish were found dead along the Navapur coast in Boisar MIDC area since the ease of lockdown norms in the past few days.

Dead Indian mullet fish were found dead along the Navapur coast in Boisar MIDC area. (HT Photo)

A zoologist has attributed to the deaths due to heavy pollution of discharge of effluents from the several chemical units lining the Navapur coast. Prior to the lockdown, no such incidents were reported.

“The dead fish belongs to a local variety which is consumed by the locals. The incident was reported in Dandi-Navapur area in Boisar,” said Prof Bhushan Bhoir, zoologist, Sonopant Dandekar College, Palghar.

“It seems the untreated effluents from the chemical units were discharged directly into the Navapur creek, leading to the deaths,” said Bhoir.

Even the colour of the water has changed from brown to reddish since Friday evening, he said.

Kundan Dhawne, member, Akhil Bharatiya Mangela Samaj Parishad has complained to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Tarapur to initiate action against the guilty chemical owners who discharged the effluents into the creek.

Earlier during the lockdown period, the colour of the water was near clear and small fish which we could not see since the past decade started to swim around, said Dhawne. Within a span of just eight days since the restrictions on industries were lifted, the fish deaths have been reported, he said.

Bhoir said, earlier the dissolved oxygen content (DO) in the Navapur Dandi creek was 4.5mg/litre while the same DO at Satpati was 7.2 mg/litre and Vadrai creek was 6.081 mg/litre.

On the day when the fish deaths occurred, the DO was a mere 1.2 mg/lt. A minimum of 3.5 mg/lt oxygen is required in water for the marine species to survive, said Bhoir.

Now with the industry resuming, the effluents are discharged into the creek. Because of this, the oxygen dissolved in water reacted with the chemicals. As a result, hypoxic conditions were created in the creek killing several small and young fish during the low tide. All adult fish travelled deep into the Arabian Sea and small fish suffered from hypoxia and died, said Bhoir.

Manish Holkar, deputy regional officer, MPCB, Tarapur said, “We are aware of the fish deaths in Navapur-Dandi creek and we have collected the water as well as fish samples to ascertain the exact cause behind the deaths. We are waiting for the lab results and if the chemical units are found guilty, we will take punitive action against them, including issuing closure notices and disconnecting water and power supply to the errant units,” said Holkar.