TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bojonegoro's residents were startled by the discovery of thousands of dead and dying fish on the surface of Bengawan Solo river Thursday, December 10.
Bojonegoro's Environmental Agency (BLH) has dispatched a team to analyse the river's water quality in order to figure out the cause behind the unusual phenomenon. A variety of fish species could be seen on the river's surface - including catfish and tilapia.
Local residents first noticed the phenomenon in the district of Padangan, around 30 kilometres from the city of Bojonegoro around midnight on Thursday. As the night progresses, residents were baffled because more and more fishes came to the surface and died.
As per Thursday afternoon, hordes of residents are still hanging around the banks of Bengawan Solo river to benefit from the windfall catch as many of the fishes are weak enough to be caughtwithout the use of elaborate nets.
According to Tempo's observation, the water in Bengawan Solo river is still tinted with a murky brown tinge.
The Head of Bojonegoro's BLH, Elsadiba Agustina, said that BLH will trace along the edge of Bengawan Solo river to inspect it within the next one or two weeks - a move aimed to map areas where illegal dumping of waste is suspected, especially along the upstream area, as well as at points where it intersects the cities of Solo, Sragen, and Ngawi.
