Authorities have failed to address this serious problem, says scientist; highly putrefied poultry litter being used as feed in fish tanks in Andhra Pradesh is generating a toxic biocycle.

The litter, when added to fish tanks, contaminates the water and increases the fluctuation of biological oxygen demand (BOD). It also accentuates the ectoparasite problem, leading to ulcers in fish. To control the parasite, fish farmers use highly toxic pesticides which penetrate into the biocycle posing a serious health hazard to the end consumer.

Andhra Pradesh ranks first in poultry egg layer rearing with 4.8 crore poultry layers and Krishna and Guntur districts alone account for 1 crore layers in the commercial sector.

About 1, 200 poultry farmers in the State grow birds in cages allowing their litter (excreta) to accumulate at the bottom of the farms/cages. The litter is cleaned and removed once a year. Every 1,000 birds generate nearly 1.5 tonnes of litter every year. Krishna and West Godavari districts account for 4, 96,400 tonnes of litter every year and 90 per cent of this is dumped in fish farms as feed. The rest is used as manure.

Source: The Hindu  // Original Article