GUWAHATI, April 18 � The large-scale death of fish at the historic Hayagriv Madhab Mandir pond of Hajo, where over 70 fishes were found dead this morning, has also raised questions over the survival prospects of the turtles living in the water-body.
Significantly, the pond shelters the State�s highest turtle diversity with a total of 12 species, including the most critically-endangered turtle of the region � the black soft-shell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans).
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has listed the turtle as �Extinct in Wild.� Till the filing of the report, no turtle casualty has been reported in the pond.
�We are more worried about its effect on the turtle population. Fortunately, no turtle causality has been reported till now but a long-term monitoring mechanism is needed,� Jayaditya Purkayastha of the Guwahati-based Help Earth told The Assam Tribune.
Purkayastha said that although test results did not point to any big undesirable change in water quality, the tests were done for standard water testing and do not in itself conclude that the water was safe �as there are other lethal compounds which are generally not found in water or included in slandered tests.�
Two members of Help Earth � Gyananda Deka and Sumit Das � accumulated data after doing an on-the-spot study at Hajo. Testing of water samples of the pond was also conducted at the Environmental Research and Evaluation Centre (EREC) for analyzing water quality.
As per the report, water turbidity and water colour of the sample exceed the permissible limits. The magnesium hardness was also found to be beyond the permissible limits. The water samples also smelt fishy.
Apart from the large number of fish the pond shelters, the water-body is also extremely sensitive as it harbours one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates � the turtles which are increasingly facing threats to their habitat across the North-east.
