Thousands of dead fish removed from Kapaleeswarar Temple’s tank in Chennai

Fish found dead in Kapaleeswarar Temple tank in Mylapore, Chennai. Local residents and shopkeepers complained of stench. GCC and temple staff removed two vehicle loads of dead fish. Samples of fish and water sent for testing to determine cause. Possible cause: lack of oxygen or contaminant from nearby garbage bins.

Thousands of fish found floating on the waters of the Kapaleeswarar Temple’s tank in Mylapore, were removed on Monday (November 27, 2023) morning. Local residents and shop keepers complained of a stench from the tank due to the dead fish.  

This is the second such incident in the recent past: a couple of months ago, fish were found dead at the Sri Parthasarathy Perumal temple tank in Triplicane.  

Temple staff and workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) removed two vehicle loads of the dead fish from the Kapaleeswarar temple tank, to be disposed of, safely. Sources said these were small fish; larger fish were not found.  

Samples of the fish and water have been collected and sent for testing, and the reason behind the deaths of the fish would be known only after the results come in.

A retired official of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Hr&CE) Department explained that such a large number of fish could have died at a time, due to lack of oxygen in the water or perhaps due to the mixing of some kind of contaminant in the water. “It has been raining, and some contaminant from nearby garbage bins could have flowed in with the rainwater,” he said.