Banganga Fish Deaths: BMC Calls Priests, Residents’ Meeting To Prevent Pollution During Pitru Paksha As Disturbing Visuals Surface

Mumbai’s historic Banganga Tank witnessed a mass fish death during the Pitru Paksha period, prompting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to convene a meeting with priests and local residents. Officials suspect excessive food and ritual offerings are contributing to pollution and low oxygen levels, endangering the aquatic ecosystem.

Workers cleared thousands of dead fish from the tank, and videos showed the grim scene. The meeting aims to prevent further deaths by discussing measures to control food, oil, and ritual material offerings. Priests are to assist by appealing to devotees to minimize such offerings, as excessive oil and flour dumplings are identified as major causes of the problem.

The BMC has ramped up cleaning operations and installed aeration equipment to boost oxygen levels. Pitru Paksha, a 15-day period of ancestral worship, sees devotees offer rice, flour dumplings, sweets, milk, oil, and floral waste in the tank. This issue has become an annual concern, with the BMC previously removing ten thousand kilograms of dead fish and organic material in 2025 due to pollution and low dissolved oxygen.