Bhubaneswar, March 8: The Humma village in Sambalpur would make any dedicated environmentalist proud.

The village, otherwise popular for its Humma temple, has become a destination for environmentalist for its conservation of Mahashir — a fish typical to the Mahanadi that flows by the temple.

Locally known as Kado, villagers see the once endangered fish as an incarnation of Vishnu in his Matsya avatar.

With the help of its temple committee, therefore, the villagers have made it mandatory for fishermen to fish all other species, but not the Kado.

Conservation is so ingrained in the local blood, that folklore, too, supports the drive.

Villagers believe that a fisherman and his wife were turned into stone while cleaning the Kado before selling it off. On an island opposite to one of the temple, there is a statue of the duo.

“Even if a Kado gets caught in the net, we release it back to the river. Catching or hurting these fish is a sin,” said Bipin Rao, a fisherman.

For the devotees, too, the fish are an attraction when they come to visit the temple.

The devotees feed bhog to the fish to receive the blessings of the lord. The best season for sighting the Kado is from winter after Kartik Poornima, till the beginning of the monsoon when the water is clear, and the current is calmer.

In other stretches of the Mahanadi, the Mahashir is constantly under threat from fishing that has resulted in a depletion of its stock. Also domestic and industry effluents have also destroyed the spawning grounds and habitats.

“Its (Mahasir) stock is declining every day and now the government is proposing a project for artificial rearing of the species. However, in Humma a unique conservation measure by the locals is creating a miracle,” said senior environmentalist Shweta Mishra. The government has shown interest in declaring the area as a Mahasir sanctuary and the department of fisheries is also keen on developing Humma.

“However, the key actors, the local fishermen, are yet to be acknowledged for their bit in the efforts to conserve the otherwise endangered fish,” Mishra added.