Patna: The devastating floods in Nepal have brought an unusual windfall for fishermen living along the Gandak in Gopalganj district, with the swollen river carrying unusually large fish downstream. Fishermen have been pulling out fish weighing between 15kg and 50kg and above from the river, with some claiming catches of even bigger sizes.Several quintals of fish have reportedly been collected from Mangalpur ghat under Jadavpur police station area and are being sent to markets in West Bengal. The unusual catch followed the powerful surge of water entering the Gandak from Nepal after the flash floods. Fisherman Chattu Sahni said the strong current has brought large fish that are rarely seen in their routine catches. However, most of the fish being found are already dead, apparently having been swept away and killed in the violent floodwaters before reaching Gopalganj, he added.“We are getting a good catch of fish. We have caught fish weighing around 45kg, 40kg, 38kg and 27kg. Some smaller ones were around 5kg,” a fisherman Bachcha Mukhiya said, claiming that the fish were coming downstream from Nepal with the floodwaters. The fishermen have kept weighing machines at the ghat to record the weight of the fishes they caught.Asked about the species, he said, “These are Nepal’s fish, including barali (wallago catfish), grass carp, goita (goonch fish) and rohu (labeo rohita), among other species.” Fishermen said they are collecting the dead fish from the river and using them as a source of livelihood by selling them in markets.At the ghat, many fishermen were seen carrying fishes in small boats and weighing the fishes they caught. A large number of people have also gathered to see the unusually large species.However, the district administration has prohibited the operation of small boats in the Gandak because of the dangerous water flow. Gopalganj DM Sameer Saurabh said the administration was taking action against people entering the river and had imposed prohibitory orders to prevent small boats from operating.“We have already marked the dangerous areas and are continuously warning people against entering the river. Prohibitory orders are in place, and no small boats are allowed to operate,” Saurabh told TOI.The DM said teams were also responding to reports of material being carried downstream. Regarding claims of a body being seen in the river, he said the administration and SDRF teams searched the Gopalganj stretch but did not find any body.“We received information about a body being seen in the river and immediately sent teams to search the area. The SDRF also checked the river stretch, but no body was found,” he said, adding that the administration had confirmed reports of other material, including wood and gas cylinders, being carried by the floodwaters.Residents along the Gandak in Gopalganj have claimed that human bodies were seen floating in the strong current and being carried downstream from the Nepal side.
