A malicious act of poisoning has resulted in the death of all fish in a dam located in Mohugai village, under the Panki police station area of Palamu district. This has caused a devastating loss for the fish farmers, with damages estimated to be in the lakhs. The dam is leased to Supendra Sao, and the local villagers collaborate on fish farming activities.
It was reported that fresh fish were recently stocked in the dam. On June 30th, Supendra Sao and other villagers released 124 kilograms of fish fry into the dam. The fish were being looked after collectively. However, on Tuesday, the villagers discovered a large number of dead fish floating on the dam’s surface. The smell of the dead fish quickly filled the area, leading to a large gathering of villagers.
Villagers believe the dam was deliberately poisoned. Supendra Sao stated he has the dam leased for three years and depends on the fish farming for his livelihood, with support from the village. He and the villagers had invested a substantial amount of money for the year’s fish stock, but this incident has resulted in great losses.
Dhananjay Sharma, Vijay Sao, Ravikant Sharma, Pradeep Prajapati, Sumant Kumar Prajapati, Niranjan Prajapati, Surendra Sao, Arvind Prajapati, along with many other villagers, expressed that the incident was more than just a financial setback; it felt like a shattering of their dreams.
The fisheries department and local administration have been informed of the incident. The villagers have requested the administration to take necessary actions to secure the dam, to prevent future occurrences.