Scores of dead fish floating in Mumbai’s heritage tank raise concerns

In what is being termed as a mysterious incident, thousands of dead fish were found floating in the waters of Mumbai’s Banganga Tank, one of the last remaining natural water bodies in the city. While Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent the tank’s water for testing to ascertain the reason behind the huge number of dead fish, officials who look after the heritage structure, located in the upscale neighborhood of Walkeshar in Malabar Hill, say that the number of fish in the tank may have exceeded the tank capacity, leading to a depletion of oxygen in the water.

Constructed originally in 1127 AD by the Silhara dynasty, Banganga Tank, identified as a heritage structure by the state government, forms a part of the Walkeshwar Shiva Temple complex that is looked after by the GSB Temple Trust.

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The freshwater tank is a major tourist spot in Mumbai due to its mythological significance. According to Hindu folklore, it is believed that Lord Ram, accompanied by younger brother Laxman, while on his quest to find wife Sita, had stopped by this place to rest. A tired and thirsty Ram asked his brother for a drink of water, thereby prompting Laxman to shoot his arrow into the ground, which then resulted in a spurt of freshwater. It is believed that this water came from one of the many tributaries of the Ganga—which is why the spot was named Banganga (baan means arrow in Hindi).

The anomaly began last Wednesday night when civic officials were alerted that thousands of dead fish have been found floating in the tank’s waters. By Thursday morning, the entire surface of the water was teeming with dead fish. The same was found on Friday morning as well.

According to GSB temple trust officials, more than three trucks of dead fish were removed from the tank between Wednesday and Friday. Terming the incident “untimely,” officials also stated that this is the first time such an incident was occurring at Banganga during this time of the year. Such incidents occurred sometimes in the aftermath of the Ganesh festival during the months of September and/or October, when devotees perform a ritual called “Pitru Paksha” during which they make offerings to the water.

“We have sent samples of the water to a laboratory for testing,” said a member of the GSB charitable trust, adding that carcasses of the dead fish were also being examined to ascertain the cause of death. He also said that more than 200 species of fish lived in the tank’s waters.

Speaking with The Federal, Rutvik Aurangabadkar, CEO-projects, GSB Trust, said: “It was observed that the water levels in Banganga Tank were normal, but suddenly, the fish started dying in huge numbers—which has never happened before. The fisheries department suspects that the fish must have died due to sudden depletion of oxygen levels in the tank as the stock of fish was more than the tank’s capacity and due to the heat. They have requested us to reduce our fish stock.”

“The GSB Temple trust tried its best to save the fish by pouring fresh water on them, through a number of tanks that were brought in as well as by water circulation through pumps which eventually increased oxygen content in the tank’s waters. Now, the fish have stopped dying. We have requested the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), a private laboratory, and BMC to conduct an investigation to ascertain the cause of the deaths and are awaiting the reports,” he added.

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He said there is also a possibility that the water was contaminated through a nearby construction site. “The holy water flow of Banganga is reduced as compared to before due to the recent construction activities. This is a matter of concern,” he said.