One arrested over ‘poisoning’ fish

Police yesterday arrested one individual after fisheries department found signs of poisonous substance in water at Madhabkunda falls in Barlekha upazila of Moulvibazar.

However, police said the identity of the arrestee could not be disclosed as the investigation was still ongoing.  

A large number of fish and aquatic animals at the plunge pool of the Madhabkunda falls started dying on Sunday. 

Sultan Mahmud, senior fisheries officer (acting) of the fisheries department in Barlekha upazila, said they found presence of rotenone, an odourless and colourless pesticide that also occurs naturally in seeds and stems of various plants such as local vine plant Bish Lata, in the water sample collected from the plunge pool of the falls on Tuesday.

Bish Lata, containing active chemical component rotenone, is preferred by unscrupulous fishers as fish killed with it can easily be sold in the market and the dead fish is not harmful for human health, he said.

The fisheries department started applying a mix of disinfectant and antibacterial agents in the water to fumigate and stabilise water in the plunge pool since yesterday, he said, adding that samples of dead fish were also sent out for tests.

Kabir Ahmed, a local and a member of Porjotak Sahayak Samiti, said the criminals, by poisoning the fish, has now put aquatic life and biodiversity in the Madhabkunda eco park, established in 2001 on 500 acres of land, in danger.

The water in the plunge pool is contaminated by dead fish as well as the poison from Bish Lata and people should refrain from consuming it and avoid contact, said Partho Sarathi Datta Kanungo, superintendent of 250-Bed Moulvibazar District Hospital.

Contact with the water or its consumption might result in skin disease and respiratory problems, he also said.  

Marufatuzzahan, chairman of Animal and Fish Biotechnology Department at Sylhet Agricultural University, said rise in acidity of water might also cause the death of fish in the pool of the waterfall. But a thorough examination can only determine the exact cause of the death.