Fish at the rich Hakaluki haor have started dying, spreading unbearable stench and posing health hazard following the flash flood caused by last month’s incessant rain.

It is a double blow for the livelihood at the haor after the flash flood devastated acres of paddy just weeks ahead of the annual harvest season.

“I lost my boro crop. I thought we could survive with the fish in the haor. But now, all the fish are dying,” said Ramij Uddin, a fisherman hailing from Bhuksimul union.

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Different species of fish – Puti, Tengra, Veda, Bailla, fry of Boal, Pabda and Rui – are dying in the haor and have started to rot, said Md Sultan Mahmud, senior fisheries officer of Kulaura.

Md Sultan Mahmud, senior fisheries officer of Kulaura, is checking a dead fish in Hakaluki haor after fish start dying in the haor after the last month's incessant rain and subsequent flash flood. Photo: Mintu Deshwara

The half ripe rice paddies and fish both have started to rot. They are emanating unbearable stench in the area as the quality of water has been damaged, he said.

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The acidity of the haor water has also risen. “The pH level is normally 7.5 to 8.5. But now, it has become disproportionate and stands at 5.8,” Mahmud told The Daily Star.

Insecticides used in the crops have dissolved with the water causing the fish to die, he said.

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“The whole area has become affected with the smell of rotten fish and now it has become difficult to bear the stench,” Md Manir Ahmed, chairman of Bhuksimul Union Parishad.

The local administration has started to urge people to refrain from fishing in the haor.