A dam in Mohugai village, under Panki police station in Palamu district, has been targeted by vandals who poisoned the water, leading to the death of all fish. This malicious act has caused significant financial damage, amounting to lakhs of rupees, to the local fishermen. The dam, leased to Supendra Sao, is a community project where the entire village participates in fish farming.
Villagers reported that a fresh stock of fish had been introduced into the dam shortly before the poisoning. On June 30th, Supendra Sao and the villagers had released 124 kg of fish fry. Fish were already present in the dam, which the villagers had been diligently tending. However, on Tuesday, they discovered a large number of dead fish floating, with a pervasive stench. The news quickly spread, drawing a large crowd to the site.
Suspicions point towards deliberate poisoning of the water. Supendra Sao stated that he has a three-year lease on the dam and supports his livelihood through fish farming, with community support. This year, he and the villagers had invested heavily in purchasing fish, only to have their efforts destroyed by this incident.
Dhananjay Sharma, Vijay Sao, Ravikant Sharma, Pradeep Prajapati, Sumant Kumar Prajapati, Niranjan Prajapati, Surendra Sao, Arvind Prajapati, and numerous other villagers expressed that the incident was not merely a financial setback, but a crushing blow to their aspirations.
The fisheries department and local authorities have been notified. The villagers are appealing to the administration to implement security measures to prevent future occurrences of such nature.