The Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum Amitabh Kaushal on Friday served a notice to Tata Steel seeking status report on the choking of picturesque Jubilee lake, situated at city’s landmark Jubilee Park, which led to the deaths of several fishes.
The Jharkhand High Court had on Thursday issued notice to the Deputy Commissioner, directing him to take adequate steps to clean up Jubilee lake and submit a report within a week.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the Deputy Commissioner confirmed that he has received the notice from the Jharkhand High Court last night and have sent a further notice to the steel company seeking status report on the Jubilee lake. “Yes, we have received the notice from the court and have asked Tata Steel to furnish status report within a week,” informed Kaushal. When question of the administration’s plan to take action, he said that the administration is waiting for the report from the steel company and only after that it will decide further course of action.
It may be mentioned that taking a suo-motto cognizance of the report – ‘Obnoxious weeds choking picturesque Jubilee lake’ published in the May 7 edition of The Pioneer, a division bench comprising Chief Justice R Banumathi and Justice S Chandrashekhar also asked the Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company ltd (JUSCO) and the State Pollution Control Board to take necessary action and submit report within a week.
The court also observed, it was evident from the report and the photograph, fishes are getting spoiled due to low oxygen level of the water in the pond, so the matter must be taken up immediately.
Hundreds of fish had died in the lake. The deaths were caused due to decreasing dissolved oxygen level caused by dense vegetation of algae, toxic pollutants and sudden change of water due to evening showers. Meanwhile, JUSCO, has assured that steps are being taken to clean Jubilee lake.