Dead fish in a water body near a fertiliser plant on the outskirts of Paradip. Telegraph picture

Paradip, July 24: Water bodies located on the fringes of a fertiliser plant here have turned into a graveyard of aquatic species, especially fishes, following suspected acidic discharge.

There are reports of fishes and aquatic species dying in water bodies and creeks near the fertiliser plant. The polluted water bodies and creeks owe its connectivity to the Mahanadi river system.

Personnel of the fisheries department have rushed to the spot to gauge the gravity of the situation as traditional inland fishermen have squarely blamed nearby Paradip Phosphates Limited (PPL) for the incident.

“There is visible presence of toxic liquefied substances in the Patakana creek. The water body is heavily polluted. It is most likely that effluents, discharged by nearby industrial units, have resulted in large-scale mortality of fishes. We are investigating whether the nearby PPL fertiliser plant is accountable for the incident. But, it is beyond doubt that industrial effluents have led to death of aquatic species,” said Jagatsinghpur district fisheries officer Gyan Ranjan Samal.

Joint general manager (personnel and administration) Prafulla Kumar Panda said: “The PPL has no role to play in the contamination of nearby water bodies. Our safety mechanism is foolproof..”

However, the fishermen communities differed from the plant authorities’ version.

“There are marked signs of asphyxiation on the dead fishes. Though the death is not on a large-scale, yet acidic discharge by the fertiliser plant has led to it,” said environmentalist Sankhanad Behera.