About 150 to 200 kg of fish were found dead in the moat of Vellore Fort. Sewage reportedly flowed into the moat following heavy rains on Saturday evening. Indiscriminate dumping of market waste into the moat also added to the pollution, officials said. Hundreds of fish of tilapia species were found floating in the moat on Sunday. Officials of the Fisheries Department deployed men to remove the dead fish from the moat and about 90% of it was cleared by Monday evening, officials said. The temperature was high on Saturday morning. However, there were heavy rains from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Following rains, drainage entered the moat and polluted the water. As a result, the oxygen level in the water dipped. This along with the change in climate resulted in the death of fish, said R. Raghunathan, assistant director, Department of Fisheries, Vellore. He said plenty of waste, including from the nearby fish market, slaughterhouse and vegetable waste, was directly disposed into the moat, polluting the water. The dead fish were buried in a corner of the fort. Officials said the Fisheries Department and Archaeological Survey of India that maintains the fort have asked the Vellore Corporation to prevent dumping of waste in the moat.