The State Fisheries department has launched mobile fish outlets for taking quality fish and fish delicacies to the consumers’ doorstep. Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav flagged off two customised vehicles on a pilot basis on Friday.
The launch follows the government’s decision to promote fisheries products through mobile outlets to be deployed in all the 150 divisions of the GHMC. The vehicles have been built according to the design developed by the Fisheries department and the department launched the project in collaboration with the National Fisheries Development Board.
Each of the 150 vehicles that would be deployed would cost ₹10 lakh. Of the total cost, subsidy of 60% would be provided to SC/ST/women beneficiaries while it would be 40% in respect of the general category. Senior officials said the deployment of vehicles would gain momentum in the coming days and the entire GHMC area would be covered by these mobile outlets before the end of the financial year.
Mr. Srinivas Yadav said the launch of the programme was part of efforts to strengthen the rural economy and encourage community-based trades. As consumers were facing difficulties in accessing quality products, the government had decided to put in place mobile outlets for their convenience. This would, on the one hand, ensure adequate marketing opportunities to fishermen while, on the other, ensure availability of fish at reasonable prices to consumers.
The mobile fish outlets had been contemplated to enhance self-employment opportunities to people dependent on the profession. He lamented that fisheries was one of the most neglected sectors in the erstwhile united State and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had therefore decided to encourage the sector through a series of initiatives, including provision of vehicles, nets and other equipment at subsidised rates.
The government had released fish seed into all the major reservoirs in the past few years as a result of which the State had registered a yield of record 3 lakh tonnes during the previous fiscal. Construction of new projects was expected to significantly increase the fish yield in the coming days and the government was working out modalities to create sufficient market linkage for the products.
