Fish production in the district has witnessed phenomenal growth in the last couple of years, thanks to Mission Kakatiya and a clutch of State government initiatives.
In 2015-16, the production was 5,200 tonnes with 95.58 lakh fish seedlings and in 2016-17, it reached 8,150 tonnes with 1.42 crore fish seedlings. The growth in the production was made possible after introduction of 100% grant for fish seed distribution, explained Rajya Sabha member Banda Prakash who has been espousing the cause of fishermen for decades.
This year, he said, it was planned to release nearly 2.72 crore fish seedlings into 700 water bodies across the district. In the past, the seedlings were released only into irrigation tanks with more than 100 acres of extent. But now, the seedlings will be released into small tanks in gram panchayats as well, the MP told The Hindu .
The Integrated Fisheries Development Scheme (IFDS) being implemented with an outlay of ₹1,000 crore is expected to further boost fish production. An amount of ₹21.65 crore has been released to the district and will benefit nearly 15, 784 members in 183 fishermen’s cooperative societies, he explained.
Unlike in the past, he said, the State government is now supplying fingerlings of three to four inches, free of cost. “The survival rate is more owing to quality and quantity,” he pointed out.
In the past, fishermen societies lacked funds and used to depend on private moneylenders at the beginning of the season, and were often exploited.
“In erstwhile Warangal district, we have 60,000 fishermen enrolled in 6,060 societies. There are 36 women cooperative societies and special focus is on encouraging women to actively engage in fish production. An amount ₹60 lakh will be spent towards marketing support to women societies,” Mr. Prakash said.
Of the ₹21.65 crore released, ₹6.96 crore will be spent on fish seed production, ₹9.94 crore for marketing and ₹2.10 crore for harvesting.
Activities like offering mobile fish retail outlets, vending units on mopeds and autos, creation of modern fish markets, fish transport vehicles and insulated trucks on subsidy will be taken up.
