Tired of rampant theft of fish from the iconic Jayanti Sarovar lake in Jubilee Park here, Jamshedpur Angling Club (JAC) has decided to install a bamboo mesh about a feet deep under water to foil ‘fishy’ attempts. The club, which was established in 1947 and oversees fishing activities at Jayanti Sarovar, Beldih Lake and Bara Lake, decided to use this contraption in the hope that the arrangement would prevent fishing nets and hooks making it to the depth of the lake and thus foil unauthorised fishing attempts. “We had started night vigil last year while our members regularly watch out for youths trying to steal fish. However, it is not possible to keep a round-the-clock vigil. Thieves place baits (on fishing hooks) and nets at different points and pick them up later with their catch. We have now decided to place the arrangement nearly a feet below the water surface which will prevent nets or hooks to reach the depth of the lake. This should prevent theft of fishes,” said JAC general secretary Aftab Khan. On Wednesday the first such mesh was placed in the lake near the inlet at the Old Court end (Garamnullah Sakchi side). “This is the point from where we recover the maximum number of nets and rods as the miscreants sneak in easily by climbing past the Old Court wall and escape with their loot. So we have placed the mesh here on a pilot basis and gradually we will put these at other outlets and inlets (around four) which are used by the thieves,” said Khan. Incidentally, JAC had released 2.5 lakh fries in 2017. The lake has a rich stock of rohu, catla, catfish along with other varieties of fish, many of which are stolen and sold by thieves in the open market. The club had formed groups of 10 volunteers for night vigil last year to prevent the pilferage. But the thieves find their opportunity by banking on occasional shortage of volunteers or their absence. “Besides our volunteers, Jusco security men also keep vigil. But the thieves find their gaps and get away with the loot. They prefer the outlets and inlets ,” said a JAC member.