The word migration doesn’t always come with negative annotation; sometimes there is a greater good behind the move. Wildlife department is also planning “migration” of fish from the Mansar lake.

Mansar lake, one of the biggest freshwater lake in the Shivalik Mountains that is facing an unprecedented threat to its existence from the carp fish present in it.

The fish is not native to the lake, but was introduced about two decades back after thousands of indigenous freshwater species died due to a mysterious disease.

The lake, at the elevation of 600 m in Samba district, nearly 60 km from Jammu, is already under pressure due to human intervention and uncontrolled influx of sewage and chemical pollutants in the water, slowly killing the Ramsar-listed site.

As fishing is prohibited due to religious reasons, the number of carp fish has increased to an alarming level beyond the capacity of the water body to sustain the aquatic life.

Read also: Carp fish causing problem in Mansar Lake

Villagers, and most people of Jammu region, have great reverence for the water body considered as the abode of Shehsnag, serpent god, from Hindu texts.

However, environmentalists have raised doubts about the success of the project.

“The big question is that where will they shift the fish. The villagers have great reverence for the aquatic life and there is no guarantee they are not killed for consumption at other places. The real culprits are those who introduced the alien species to the lake, leading to the present mess” Environmentalist, Bushan Parimoo