THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram Zoo authorities have landed in a soup after awarding the tender to catch fish from the artificial 3.5 acre pond to K. Muraleedharan Nair, one of the keepers. Several varieties of live fish from the Padmatheertham Pond attached to the Sree Padmanabhaswami temple were transported to the artificial pond at the city Zoo during 2014 when it underwent cleaning. There is a tri-party agreement which states that the fish population should not be sold at the Zoo which should be protected as a sanctuary.
B. Joseph, former director of the museum and Zoo told DC that the tri-party agreement reached between the Museum and Zoo department, Central Zoo Authority and culture department of the 20-year master plan of the Zoo had been disregarded. “Nowhere in the agreement have we said that the fish in the artificial pond in the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo has to be sold off. If so, the authorities could have sold off their fish at the Padmatheertham pond when it was cleaned in 2014. Why did they have to relocate it to the Zoo pond?”, said Joseph, a former IFS official.
But the current Zoo authorities feigned ignorance about re-locating the fish population from the Padmatheertham pond to the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo. It did award the tender to catch fish to one of it keepers in April. K. Gangadaran, Museum and Zoo director told DC that it was after a gap of five years that they had awarded the tender to catch fish from the Zoo’s pond. But during the summer when the water level receded in the pond, the oxygen level dipped and as a result the fish population was dying.
Muraleedharan Nair therefore delayed netting the fish catch. But now there is adequate water which has enabled the fish population to thrive. Since the last three days, Muraleedharan Nair has got more than 100 kilogrammes of fish including different varieties like Tilapia, Carp (Catla), and Rohu. “I won the tender for '59 per kilo and I have made arrangements to sell it to fishermen working outside”, said Muraleedharan Nair. Zoo authorities have ensured that the fishing is done before the rush of visitors starts at 9 am.
