The post mortem of the fish has revealed that they died of oxygen deficiency in the water.

In a horrific turn of events, hundreds of fish were found dead in Agra's Keetham lake on Sunday. It is believed that the fishes died due to the severely polluted water being dumped into the Keetham reservoir which had dropped the dissolved oxygen levels to almost nil in the water body.

Talking to India Today, a wildlife warden said that the fish are dependent on the levels of oxygen dissolved (DO) in the water. He also said that, over the past few weeks, the Agra canal, which fills the Keetham reservoir, had been bringing severely polluted water to the lake which had dropped the DO levels to almost nil. This caused the fish to die out en masse.

The furious locals have demanded an immediate action against the perpetrators responsible for polluting the Keetham lake.

The wildlife warden also said that the irrigation department has been informed of the incident and has been asked to stop the supply of polluted water to the lake.

The concerned officials also sent the water samples from the lake for investigation, along with the dead bodies of the fish for post mortem analysis.

The post mortem of the fish has revealed that they died of oxygen deficiency in the water.

A physical survey of the lake’s water source by India Today revealed that the Agra canal was indeed bringing in a lot of industrial waste into the Keetham lake.

The chemical-laden water had created a layer of blue-green algae over the water, darkening the water and creating an oxygen deficiency in the water through increased Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). This drop in DO was the prima facie reason for the death of the fishes.

National Chambal Sanctuary Project Divisional Forest Officer Anand Kumar said that the irrigation department has already been asked to stop the supply of polluted water in the lake.

In the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), the Keoladeo Ghana Bird sanctuary and Soor Sarovar (Keetham) Bird sanctuary are known for the wide variety of aquatic birds.

Every year, thousands of domestic and international tourists come to visit these sanctuaries where the migratory birds from various countries can be seen living, feeding and breeding.

The principal food of these migratory birds at the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary are the 8 varieties of freshwater fish living in the Keetham lake.

The survival of these birds depends on the large number of fishes in the lake.

The 230-km-long Agra canal was constructed in the British era, along with the Keetham reservoir, to maintain year-long water supply to Agra.

Constructed in 1874, the canal continued to be used for transportation of passengers and goods till 1904. At present, the water from this canal irrigates large tracts of land in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

It has resulted in the presence of significant amounts of industrial pollutants like lead, nickel and cobalt, along with pesticides and herbicides like Endosulphan, DDT, Ammonia etc., mostly released into the canal when it passes through Faridabad. As a result, a canal built to bring life to Agra is now delivering death.



