ed:sajuCoimbatore: Every morning around 8.30, there is a steady trickle of people lining up to buy fish 'freshly caught from the Krishnampathy Tank' at Poosaripalayam. The fish, caught from 6.30am, are sold by a group of seven fishermen right along the tank banks. However, what the eager customers ignore is the fact that Krishnampathy Tank, like the seven other tanks in the district, is one of the city's major sewage and debri dumping points. And as a a result, the 'fresh fish' feed on sewage generated by thousands of people.The fishermen, who claim to be from the Coimbatore Circle Fishermen's Cooperative Society, had recently set up a make-shift shop with a board saying 'Live fish will be sold here daily'. "We are able to catch around 50kgs to 60 kgs of fish daily. While we sell around 20kgs here, we send the remaining to the Ukkadam Fish Market," said Ramesh Ramdass, who claims his ancestors were fishing in the tanks to eke out a living."We get rohu, katla and tilapia in the tank and sell them at Rs 100 per kgs," said Ramdass. Rohu, a dam variety, costs about Rs 400 per kg in Ukkadam.The Krishnampathy Tank, which has almost half its area filled with water hyacinths, has been one of the major sewage outlets for the district for the past two decades."The water in the tank definitely contains a lot of aerobic bacteria, which is why it foams so heavily when it rains and the temperature drops," said an environmental engineer with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board."Water hyacinth thriving in the tank is a sign that the water is severely contaminated. A fresh water tank would be filled with water lilies," said NI Jalaluddin, environmentalist and founder of the Nature Conservation Society. "It is extremely dangerous to have vegetables cultivated with the water and fish, which feeds on such poisonous substances," he said.Ironically, a few residents of the area, who would never dream of taking a dip in the tank's water or use it to irrigate their lands, have no qualms about buying fish from the tank. "We usually buy fish from the Ukkadam Market, but this is so much closer," said G Vijayraj, a resident of Nagarajapuram.Meanwhile, food safety officers said the food safety and standards act does not mention places that fish can be caught. "It is difficult for us to take action against them. It is up to the public to become aware of what they are consuming," designated food safety officer OS Vijay told TOI.

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