Illegal Pangasius Pool Discovered in Ferghana Basement

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Housing and Communal Services Control Inspection officers discovered an unauthorized pool containing Iridescent sharks, or pangasius fish, in the basement of an apartment building in Ferghana during a raid in the Muruvvat mahalla.

Inspectors established that a apartment owner walled off a portion of the shared basement and illegally connected a large tank used as a pool to the municipal water supply.

Administrative violation reports were drawn up against the resident for unauthorized use of common property and illegal consumption of drinking water, under Part 1 of Article 163 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility.

The citizen was fined and ordered to dismantle the pool, vacate the occupied section of the basement, and restore the premises to its original condition within 15 days.

The inspection authority reminded residents that basements and other common areas in multi-apartment buildings cannot be used in violation of legal requirements.

The fish found in the pool are not true sharks. The Iridescent shark catfish, or pangasius, is a freshwater fish named for its body shape and dorsal fin.

This species naturally inhabits freshwater bodies in Türkiye, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.