RK Impact: Four miscreants arrested for electro-fishing in Kulgam’s Veshow River

Kulgam, Sept 29: Fisheries Department in Kulgam has intensified its drive against individuals involved in illegal electro-fishing in the Veshow River.
On Sunday, four individuals were apprehended, and batteries used for the activity were confiscated.
Shabir Ahmad, Assistant Director (AD) of Fisheries for Anantnag, who also holds additional charge for Kulgam, told Rising Kashmir that their teams, constituted earlier, achieved a breakthrough by catching some of the miscreants involved in electro-fishing at various spots along the river.
He said that during an anti-poaching drive led by Deputy Inspector Fisheries, Mushtaq Ahmad, on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, an electric battery was confiscated at Band Kuji Adpora. Poachers took advantage of the darkness and fled the scene, abandoning the battery, which was seized on the spot.
AD fisheries said that the local fishermen from Pahloo supported the fisheries staff during this operation.
“We intensified the drive and were able to apprehend four individuals in Nehama and Adapora who were illegally electro-fishing in the river. The Department handed over the miscreants to police and legal proceedings going on,” he said.
He further urged the general public to refrain from engaging in such illegal activities that harm fish biodiversity. “This valuable resource belongs to the whole society, and it is our moral duty to conserve the fish fauna,” he added.
Notably, Rising Kashmir had published a story on September 24, titled “Kulgam: Miscreants Engage in Electro-fishing in Veshow River,” following which the Fisheries Department intensified its efforts, resulting in Sunday’s breakthrough.