The Meghalaya government on Friday denied a report that fish in the State's Ranikor river were dying due to exploratory drilling for uranium ore and claimed the water had turned toxic from substances used by local people for fishing. “The fish have died not due to exploratory drilling for uranium ore but due to the toxicity of the river where local people use toxic substances for catching fish,” Deputy Chief Minister Bindo M. Lanong said. “If uranium radiation was the cause of the deaths, all other aquatic life forms there would have also been affected and there would have been lesions on the fish,” Mr. Lanong, who looks after the mining and geology department, said following an interim report submitted by two geologists. Thousands of dead fish have been found floating in the Ranikor since April 13, prompting the government to conduct an inquiry. Geologists K.B. Surong and E. Nongbri submitted their findings after studying the Kynshi and Rilang rivers, the two tributaries of the Ranikor. While water flowing from the Rilang was crystal clear, Kynshi water was found to be muddy, reddish-brown with lot of impurities. The fish were found floating on Kynshi's waters. Kolkata-based Maheshwari Mining Private Limited is currently conducting exploratory drilling for uranium ore near one of the streams that joins the Kynshi river. The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) has found an estimated 9,500 tonnes of uranium oxide reserves in Meghalaya. The proposed open-cast uranium mining project in West Khasi Hills district has been hanging fire since 1992 after several groups cited the ill-effects of radiation on human health and environment. Open-cast mine The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) proposes to set up an open-cast uranium mine and processing plant in Meghalaya. It has also plans to produce 375,000 tonnes of uranium ore a year and process 1,500 tonnes a day. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has already given clearance to the UCIL to start mining in the State. —IANS ‘Water poisoned from the toxic substances used by locals for catching fish' Thousands of dead fish have been found floating in the Ranikor since April 13