Sidhu celebrates environment day by releasing fish seeds in Beas river

Sidhu, accompanied by party workers, who held placards of ‘save rivers’, ‘save water’, and ‘save nature’ took a boat to enter the river and released small breeds of fish into the river.

Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday celebrated the World Environment Day by releasing around 10,000 fish seeds into the Beas river, where a large number of fish were found dead on May 17 after molasses from the Chadha sugar factory leaked into the river.

Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu releasing fish seed into Beas river in Amritsar. (HT Photo)

Sidhu, accompanied by party workers, who held placards of ‘save rivers’, ‘save water’, and ‘save nature’ took a boat to enter the river and released small breeds of fish into the river. “The loss of aquatic life in the Beas river cannot be recovered but we all should make efforts to revive its ecosystem,” Sidhu said.

Sidhu said he had decided to celebrate environment day by releasing fishes into the river soon after the tragedy occurred. “The drive to revive the glory of Beas’s ecosystem will continue and I will release more fishes into the river very soon,” he said.

Sidhu also instructed deputy commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha to conduct an immediate meeting with officials of forest and fishery department and chalk out a plan to release seeds of fish varieties in the river as part of a revival plan for the river’s ecosystem.

According to the fishery department, some varieties of fish are available in Punjab, while rest of the varieties will have to be brought from coastal states such as Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa.