Dead fish floating among the debris in the river. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
Whose responsibility is it? What causes it?Who is the culprit? And how to prevent it from repeating? The problem is now reported in newspaper where is the investigation and solution?
KUCHING: A large number of dead fish are floating on a stretch of the Sarawak River the city centre.
Some images on the eyesore were shared on social media on Friday but an individual met by thesundaypost at the site yesterday said those dead fish had been there since early last week.
Faizak Keruak, 28, who looks after PNK Sri Muara Cruise boat that docks at the Riverbank Jetty here, was seen using a piece of wood to clear a dead fish that was stuck among floating debris.
That particular stretch of the Sarawak River reeks of rotten dead fish raising complaints from passersby and villagers living along the bank.
Faizak is seen using a piece of wood to clear a dead fish stuck in between waste.
Faizak, said he was puzzled why the relevant authorities had not taken any action so far.
Contacted by thesundaypost, Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh said he had instructed the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) to investigate the cause of the fish dying in the river.
“I haven’t got the report from NREB,” he said.
NREB Controller Justine Jok Jau Emang later told thesundaypost that an investigation is on-going.
“We are investigating, I can’t comment yet,” he said, adding that it would take the board some time to conduct an analysis on whether the river was contaminated.
Meanwhile a Kuching resident who noticed a marked increase of river fish sold by vendors by the roadside here raised the fear that those fish could have been collected by unscrupulous people from the river.
“Those fish sold by the vendors were the same species I saw in pictures posted in the facebook,” he said.
Source: The Borneo Post