Bathinda: Environmentalist and Lt Col (retired) Jasjit Singh Gill has written to the National Green Tribunal to take cognisance of the sudden death of fish near the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers at Harike in Punjab. A large number of fish have died, and it needs to be looked into the reasons behind whether it is due to some toxic element or some chemical pushed into the water bodies.TOI had highlighted the death of fish in its columns on April 4.The sudden death of fish seems as a result of heavy chemical cocktail infusion by some industry or industrial complex upstream into the river waters, like the last ethanol storage tank burst of a distillery on the banks of the Beas when a similar tragedy struck the marine life and lakhs of fish died in May 2018, said Gill while attaching a video clip captured by concerned farmers.In view of the river water which killed fish on the intervening night of April 1 and 2, as same chemical-laden river water is being consumed in the south Malwa through Sirhind Feeder canal and seven districts of Rajasthan through Indira Gandhi or Rajasthan Feeder canal, and it is worth investigating the sources and causes of this heavy casualty due to some chemical or otherwise. This may be a warning of this dangerous river water which has killed fish and is feared to cause death or diseases for humans consuming the canal water originating from Harike. Both Punjab and Rajasthan Pollution Control Boards need to issue a timely warning to stop people from consuming this poison-laden water, stated Gill, who is former member of State Task Force on Buddha Darya Rejuvenation Project.
