CUTTACK: A giant stingray weighing about two quintals was caught alive in a fishing net from Kandala river near Balikuda under Niali block of the district on Friday.
Local fishermen had set up fishing nets in the river near Kundimuha bridge when they spotted a giant fish entangled in their net at 7 am.
The fishermen identified the fish to be a stingray locally called ‘Sankucha’ and immediately pulled it out of the water. The fish was 13 feet long and 7 feet wide.
Later, locals thronged the spot to get a glimpse of the rare catch. On being informed, forest officials rushed to the spot and rescued the fish.
“The rescued stingray weighing about two quintals was immediately released into the river at about 8.30 am,” said DFO Ashok Kumar Mishra.
Stingrays from shark family are common in coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world with some even belonging to deep sea.
The gigantic stingray might have made an upstream movement from Bay of Bengal to reach the river, Mishra added.
Sadly, some unscrupulous local fishermen had attempted to catch the tired stingray again from the river for smuggling.
However, their attempt was foiled with the intervention of locals and forest officials who then released the stingray in deep water.
Forest officials have been alerted to keep a close watch on movement of the stingray, he added.