Activists have urged the civic body to take urgent steps to prevent the deaths of hundreds of fish in the historic Banganga tank in Walkeshwar after the Pitru Paksha rituals. They have suggested that the immersion of puja remains be prohibited and substituted with artificial ponds created around the tank for the annual ritual.
Recurring Problem at Sacred Tank
On Monday morning, hundreds of dead fish floated on the surface of Banganga tank, a sacred water body surrounded by ancient temples in the Walkeshwar area of Malabar Hill. This was not the first time fish died in large numbers but an annual occurrence after the last day of Pitru Paksha, when Hindus honour their departed ancestors.
Rituals and Aftermath
On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered at the holy site to perform shraddha and pinda daan rituals, believed to provide solace to departed souls. Like every year, devotees performed rituals at the tank, after which fish died in large numbers. The civic body carried out an immediate cleaning of the tank, removing the dead fish. Mangal Prabhat Lodha, state minister and MLA from Malabar Hill, visited the site on Tuesday along with Deputy Assistant Commissioner of D ward Manish Walunj to interact with locals.
Call for Preventive Measures
Activists have demanded that concrete steps be taken by the civic body to prevent fish deaths every year. They suggested creating artificial ponds, similar to those set up for visarjan during Ganeshotsav, around the tank during Pitru Paksha to stop puja material from entering the water body.
Activists’ Voices
Sneha Visariya, founder trustee of Just Smile Charitable Trust, said:
“The puja materials should be banned from entering the water and should be immersed in artificial ponds, from which only the water can be released into the tank. This will also give devotees a sense of ritualistic fulfilment. We are killing living beings in the name of religion and this should be stopped.”
Visariya recalled that in 2022, after a similar incident, she had taken dead fish to Parel Veterinary Hospital for post-mortem. The hospital submitted a report to the police citing contaminated water as the cause of death, she claimed.
Animal Welfare Concerns
Roshan Pathak, animal rights advisor at Pure Animal Lovers (PAL) Welfare Foundation, stressed the need for regular tank cleaning. “If there are fish in the tank, looking after them is also BMC’s responsibility. Devotees throw everything in the tank thinking fish will eat it, but they have a specific diet. Anything else turns into poison if not followed.”
Locals’ Perspective
Locals said the incident has been recurring for decades, though the number of dead fish reduced significantly this year. Notably, BMC had prohibited immersion of Ganpati idols in the tank before Ganesh Chaturthi this year. Residents complained that the stench of dead fish makes the precinct unbearable.
Chirag Dave, a local resident who facilitates rituals at the tank, said:
“I have seen fish dying after Pitru Paksha for more than four decades now. While we don’t let devotees immerse the pinda in the water, remains like oil, sesame seeds, and barley flow into the water, leading to fish death. The area stinks every year after the deaths, but this year the cleaning was quick. While fish death should be prevented, devotees also should not be stopped from religious rituals.”
