Low O2 level: Dead fish float at Kamanakerehundi Lake

Once pristine Lake that attracted birds now becomes a sewage tank

Mysore/Mysuru: Thousands of fish are dying at the Kamanakerehundi Lake, locally called Doddakere. The fish death was noticed by the villagers and local residents four to five days back and an unbearable stench pervades the air.

The Lake is located three kilometres from Kesare Arch and is over seven to eight kilometres from Mysuru city. The deaths have occurred due to the high toxic content of the water inside the Lake where there is little oxygen due to pollution.

According to villagers and people who frequent the area, the 15-acre Doddakere is dying slowly. The Lake was pristine just four years ago and now, it is fully polluted as it has become open drainage where many houses have let out their wastewater into the water body. There are huge amounts of plastic waste and other household waste and waste discarded after religious ceremonies.

“Usually in the month of August, water is released from the nearby Varuna Canal for the farmers to grow paddy. Almost immediately, large quantities of pesticides and weed-killing chemicals are sprayed on the fields. When it rains, these pesticides and harmful chemicals are washed into the Lake, leading to the death of fish,” Sunil Kumar, a resident of J.P. Nagar, who is a frequent visitor to Kamanakerhundi told Star of Mysore this morning.

The fishlings were released to the Lake by one Ramanna, a resident of the village, after taking the Panchayat tender worth Rs. 8 lakh. He has released fishlings worth Rs. 5 lakh and is staring at huge losses.

“When Ramanna took the tender, the situation in the Lake was not this bad. Birds used to frequent the place including migratory ones. Now the situation is miserable,” Sunil Kumar added. 

Following complaints of fish death, Fisheries Department Deputy Director M.S. Manjeshwar visited the Doddakere and after examining the water, he said that there is very less oxygen in the Lake and is filled with pesticide and weed-killer chemicals. “The fish have died due to lack of oxygen and there is an immediate need to clean the water,” he said.