Govt's quality seedlings drive fishery development: Srihari

Karimnagar: Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Youth Services Vakiti Srihari announced that the State government is supplying quality fish seedlings to ponds and various water bodies. “As part of this initiative, 84 crore fish seedlings and 10 crore shrimp seedlings are set to be distributed in 26,000 ponds throughout Telangana this year,” he said.

Srihari, accompanied by Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Fisheries Corporation Chairman Mettu Sai Kumar, launched 3 lakh fish seedlings valued at Rs 5.17 lakh at Yellamma Lake in the Husnabad Assembly constituency of Siddipet district on Saturday.

The Minister highlighted that approximately 253 fishing families would benefit from the free fish seedlings distributed at Yellamma tank, with around 38.92 lakh seedlings planned for distribution across 165 tanks in the Husnabad constituency. This initiative is expected to support 4,144 fishing families in the area.

“The state government is promoting economic empowerment among fishermen by distributing free fish seedlings and positioning the fisheries sector as an essential component of the state’s economy. Three mobile fish retail units have already been established for women’s groups in the constituency through the Indira Mahila Shakti Scheme. Additionally, in the event of an accidental death of a fisherman, a group accident insurance policy worth Rs 5 lakh is provided to ensure financial security for their families,” he stated.

During the event, Ponnam urged the Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Minister to prioritise the construction of a new veterinary hospital building in Husnabad, develop a modern veterinary facility, complete the ongoing construction of a state-of-the-art fish market, allocate a veterinary doctor position, and address the concerns of Gopala Mitra.

Responding to Ponnam’s request, Vakiti promised to modernise the Husnabad Veterinary Hospital, set up a fish market, storage center, and milk cooling centre.

Srihari said that five lakh fishermen families in the state depend on fisheries and efforts are being made for their development. He said that plans are being prepared to increase fish production centers significantly and supply them to other areas.