Effect of idol immersion on water quality and Tilapia fish in Futala, Gandhisagar and Ambazari lakes of Nagpur, India

INTRODUCTION: Idol immersion activity is one of the sources of heavy metal pollution in the lakes of India. Futala, Gandhisagar and Ambazari lakes of Nagpur city are highly involved with idol immersion activity. CASE DESCRIPTION: In this study, water and Tilapia fish (Oreochromis mossambicus) of Futala, Gandhisagar and Ambazari lakes were analyzed for heavy metals by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: The results were high compared with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for water quality and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) for fish. The results showed appreciable high levels of heavy metal as lead, cadmium, copper, iron and manganese in water and fish in study lakes. It was observed that Gandhi Sagar lake was more contaminated after the idol immersion activity. Concentrations of Pb and Cd in fish of Gandhisagar lake were found high levels, ranged 0.83 and 0.47 μg/g respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the present investigation indicate the unsafe condition for human consumption and environmental health.