Coochbehar/Kolkata, Nov 04 (HS): One fisherman was electrocuted and died on the spot today after he tried to catch fish in the Torsha river with electrocution, a common but illegal method of catching river fish in North Bengal by using live electric wire.
According to reports reaching the state police headquarters here this afternoon, the young fisherman of around 19 years of age died instantaneously after he was electrocuted while trying to catch fish in the river water at Patkakhowa village in this North Bengal district with a battery operated inverter tied on his back, which inadvertently came in contact with water causing a short circuit in the system.
Though he was rushed to a nearby primary health centre, he was pronounced brought dead by the attending doctor.As a pall of gloom has descended in the village and its neighbourhood, about 350 km from Kolkata.
Incidentally, every year large number of fishermen in the district, particularly in and around the Duars area, rush to the mighty Torsha river in this time of the year to catch substantial quantity of fish through such an innovative but totally illegal manner which does not require any major physical effort like the conventional ones (to catch fish).
As every year some people either loss their lives or get injured because of electrocution forcing the local authority to impose a complete ban on such illegal method of catching river fish, very few people pay any heed to such warnings and continue to do this without caring for the risk involved.
In addition, it also causes unnecessary and huge loss of different kinds of small fishes in the river causing concern to the district authorities.
