Alanalloor: Electrofishing or using batteries to catch fish has become rampant in the Velliyar River after the water level lowered and the currents subsided.

Local residents say that people have been fishing at various spots in the river, both day and night, now that the rains have gone.

Shoals of fish get stunned when electricity flows between the submerged batteries. People say that only the big fishes are taken away while the small ones are often spotted flowing away in the water.

The local residents have been urging the authorities to take action against such people who do electrofishing in the river, especially in areas like Kannamkundu, Vakkayil Kadavu and Pangacheeri Kadavu.