The Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation has organised a foundation-laying ceremony for the construction of a modern seafood processing plant on the premises of its office in Hoige Bazaar on Saturday.
Corporation Chairperson Nitin Kumar told presspersons on Friday that the ceremony would be held on Saturday and that Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and other Cabinet Ministers would participate in it.
He said that under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the Centre had sanctioned Rs. 25 crore three years ago. However, the Centre has released Rs. 17 crore. Of this, Rs. 13 crore had been spent on creating other infrastructure such as air-conditioned fish retail outlets, Matsyadarshini canteens, ice plants, fish markets, and ornamental fish marketing activities.The seafood processing plant was sanctioned with the largest chunk of funds at Rs. 5 crore. The construction of the work had been awarded to Bangalore-based ETA Engineering Company which submitted the lowest bid at Rs. 4.56 crore. Mr. Kumar said that the plant would be ready within nine months.
Two Matsyadarshini canteens functioning in Bangalore were doing very well. Other such canteens had been constructed in Chitradurga and Davangere; two in Mysore would be inaugurated in February. Two more were under construction.
Mr. Kumar said that 12 integrated fish retail outlets in Bangalore (two), Kolar, Tumkur, Hassan, Shimoga, Theerthahalli, Madikeri, Sullia, Puttur, B.C. Road, and Mangalore were doing well. The corporation had utilised Rs. 20 lakh to construct fish markets. Mr. Kumar also said that the corporation had accumulated a loss of Rs. 10 crore over a period of 34 years until 2006-07. Now, the corporation it had made a profit of Rs. 1.07 crore. Gradually, the corporation would make up for the loss, he said.
