Dead fish found floating in farm well in Erode

Hundreds of fish were found floating in a farm well at Villarasampatti in Erode district, after the farm owner alleged that the deaths were caused by the discharge of industrial effluents into a nearby stream.

On Tuesday (November 4, 2025), the owner, T. Senthilvel, noticed the dead fish in the well and alerted officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). He claimed that a textile processing unit, located about 800 metres away, had reportedly discharged effluents into the stream on Sunday (November 2) night, leading to water contamination, which in turn affected the well.

According to him, over 1,000 fish of various sizes had died by Monday, though many had already been carried away by birds. Senthilvel said this was the fifth instance of water contamination, the last one occurring in 2024, when fish had also died due to oxygen depletion and pollution.

The stream carrying the contaminated water eventually flows into the Karuvilparai lake within the Corporation limits. The farmer demanded stringent action against the textile unit for releasing effluents into the open stream.

Officials took water samples for testing.