The Palair balancing reservoir, a major hub of freshwater fish and prawn culture in Kusumanchi mandal, is likely to turn into a centre of cage fish culture if the plans of the Telangana government to give a major thrust to fish culture in the new State are any indication.
Thanks to its abundant water resources, the district earned a niche for itself in fish and prawn production in the entire region.
According to sources, the fish production and fresh water prawn production in the district is estimated to be over 16,000 MT and 500 MT respectively.
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There are around 14,000 members enrolled in as many as 184 fishermen cooperative societies in the district.
Apart from feeding the ayacut under the Nagarjunasagar left canal system, the Palair balancing reservoir is also catering to drinking water needs of Khammam town.
The reservoir is also serving as a sole source of livelihood for over 1,000 fishermen of Kusumanchi and its adjoining mandals.
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A total of 15 members of the Palair based fishermen societies have been selected for an exposure visit to Jharkhand to study the cage fish culture.
The Fisheries Department has selected them for the tour to familiarise them with the cage fish culture method being followed by the local fishermen at Chandil reservoir in Jharkhand.
Minister for Fisheries Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Minister for Finance E Rajender have recently visited the Chandil reservoir to study the feasibility of promoting the cage fish culture in Telangana.
A 15-member team of fishermen headed by a Fisheries Development Officer will tour Jharkhand for three-days from November 21 as part of an exposure visit to explore the possibilities of adopting the cage fish culture in the district, said V Srinivas, Assistant Director, Fisheries, Khammam.