They smelled something fishy… and pounced on it. 

An inauguration by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar’s Saharsa witnessed pandemonium after a horde of people looted a fish tank as soon as he left, with some of the attendees even saying they were at the event not for the politician, but to ensure that they could have a fish party.

Mr Kumar was in Saharsa on Friday to lay the foundation stone for some government schemes. He dedicated a Maa Vishhari temple to the people and then visited Amarpur in the district, where an exhibition had been organised by various government departments. One of the exhibits was a Biofloc tank – which is used in fish farming – and the chief minister was asked to put some fish in it, in addition to the ones that were already there.

Scarcely had the helicopter carrying Mr Kumar taken off when a crowd of people, including children, descended on the tank and went fishing with their hands. Officials at the spot tried to stop them, but could not. 

A video showed the crowd jumping into the tank, pushing and scrambling to get their hands on the fish. Some children were also seen playing in the tank.

Divyanshu Kumar, a young man who was among those whose fishing expedition proved to be a success, said, “I did not meet Nitish Kumar but got some fish. Our eyes were on the fish. As soon as Nitish Kumar left, all of us went to the tank. Today, there will be a fish party in the name of Nitish Kumar.”