States » EastPosted at: Oct 31 2026 9:11AM


Tourism minister warns against consuming dead fish washed down Sankosh River

Siliguri, Oct 31 (UNI) West Bengal Tourism Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon has urged residents living along the Sankosh River and in adjoining areas not to consume dead fish washed downstream from Bhutan following a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), warning that they could pose serious health risks.
Oraon, who represents Kumargram in the Assembly, said several tonnes of dead fish were found floating in the Sankosh River in Alipurduar district on Saturday morning.
He said local residents had collected large quantities of the fish and taken them to markets in Sankosh, Kumargram, Tufanganj and adjoining areas.
The minister appealed to people not to buy or consume the fish until experts establish whether they are safe for human consumption.
He also urged traders not to sell fish collected from the affected stretch of the river.
“The cause of their death is yet to be determined. Their safety for human consumption cannot be established without proper examination,” Oraon said, warning that eating contaminated fish could cause serious illness and, in extreme cases, prove fatal.
He said the colour of the river water had turned unusually dark after the floodwater from Bhutan reached the area around midnight on Friday.
A large number of fish were found dead between midnight and 5 am on Saturday.
Several people had entered the river during the night and early morning to collect them.
Oraon said he had visited the riverbank and found the situation alarming.
He also joined local residents in collecting the dead fish and ensured that the fish gathered were buried underground to prevent them from entering the food chain.
The cause of the mass fish deaths is yet to be established.
The minister said a sudden change in water conditions following the flash flood could have contributed to the incident.
A shortage of dissolved oxygen, chemical contamination, pesticides or other pollutants carried downstream could also be possible reasons, he said.
“These are only possibilities. The actual cause of the fish deaths must be established by experts after examining the water and the fish,” Oraon said.
The incident follows the glacial lake outburst flood in Bhutan, which sent a sudden surge of water downstream towards the Sankosh River in northern West Bengal.
Although the river absorbed the additional water without triggering a major flood threat in the adjoining areas, the large-scale fish deaths have raised concerns over possible contamination.
The minister said the immediate priority was to prevent the dead fish from reaching consumers and urged people to remain cautious until scientific tests establish the cause of the deaths and determine whether fish from the river are safe to eat.
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