Karimnagar: Fishermen oppose supply of small fish seedlings

According to norms, seedlings ranging from 80mm to 100mm in size should be dropped in tanks where water would be available through the year while seedlings ranging from 35mm to 40mm are dropped in seasonal water bodies.

Karimnagar: Fishermen in the district are unhappy over the supply of small and substandard fish seedlings by the State government. Members of fisherman cooperative societies have refused to drop these in water bodies. Societies in Manthani, Palakurthi and Anthergaon mandals of Peddapalli district recently returned the vehicles that brought seedlings, refusing to accept them.

According to norms, seedlings ranging from 80mm to 100mm in size should be dropped in tanks where water would be available through the year while seedlings ranging from 35mm to 40mm are dropped in seasonal water bodies. Setting aside such norms, this year, the government is supplying small size seedlings, the fishermen complained.

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That was not the only complaint. They pointed out that July and August were the appropriate months to drop seedlings in the water bodies. Fish would grow to their maximum weight if the seedlings were dropped by August. But the government this year started supplying the seedlings only in the third week of October, which was not the right time. They also opined that fish would have grown up to 300 to 400 grams by this time if the seedlings were dropped at the right time.

Therefore, instead of fish seedlings, the government should provide money since the fishermen have already dropped seedlings bought on their own expense in water bodies, they said.

Fisheries department officials said the supply of seedlings was delayed due to delay in finalizing the tendering process. Last year, 6.32 crore seedlings (worth Rs 6.38 crore) were dropped in 2,965 water bodies in the erstwhile Karimnagar district.

Speaking to Telangana Today, PeddapallAdd Newi Fishermen Cooperative Society president K Narsaiah said it was not the right time to drop fish seedlings in tanks and that they had already dropped seedlings on their own. The government was helping only contractors to benefit by supplying the seedlings at this juncture, he said, making it clear that they would not allow officials to drop the seedlings now.