A large number of fish, mostly Jalebi fish, were found dead in the irrigation tank maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) in Natrampalli town near Tirupattur on Friday.
Residents and local fishermen noticed the fish washed up on the bund of the 40-feet-deep tank spread across 125 acres. Immediately, they alerted panchayat and Fisheries Department officials, who removed the dead fish and collected samples to find the cause of death.
The death of such a large number of fish has been attributed to depletion in the oxygen level in the water. Residents said unauthorised discharge of sewage water into the moat may have led to the depletion of oxygen-level in the water, resulting in the death of the fish.
