Dead fish in Beas: PPCB probe report in three days

Besides sealing the sugar mill at Kiri Afghana village in Gurdaspur district, the PPCB imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on it for negligence.

A day after a large number of fish died due to the release of molasses from a sugar mill into the Beas river, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) set up a three-member probe committee.

Dead fishes taken out from Beas river after molasses from a sugar factory leaked into the river on Thursday. (HT File)

It appears the incident happened accidentally due to a blast in the furnace in which the molasses was stored in the sugar mill — Kahan Singh Pannu, PPCB chairman

Besides sealing the sugar mill at Kiri Afghana village in Gurdaspur district, the PPCB imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on it for negligence.

PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu said the probe committee, led by board chief engineer GS Majithia, will submit its report in three days.

“It appears the incident happened accidentally due to a blast in the furnace in which the molasses was stored in the sugar mill,” Pannu said.

He said the release of molasses in the river brought down the oxygen level in the water, leading to the death of the fish on a large scale.

Molasses is a byproduct in sugarcane processing. It has organic and nutritional value and is therefore preserved.