Fisheries minister B Nagaraja Shetty said emphasis has been laid on inland fishing and about 20 crore fishes will be cultivated this year.
He was speaking after inaugurating the State level fisheries congregation organised by Karnataka Co-operative Fisheries Federation on Saturday. He said there is high demand for inland fishes and state has set its goal to cultivate 25 crore fishes. “About 12 crore were cultivated last year. This year we hope to have 15-20 crore fishes.
The young ones for cultivation are being brought from Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. This is a major step towards becoming self reliant in this direction,” he said.
Fish rearing, sale and other developmental activities will be supported by National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in terms of finance.
Training is being imparted in about fish rearing in lakes and development of ornamental fishes. Project is underway to produce slightly heavier fishes in and around Mysore. “There is equal emphasis on coastal and inland fisheries at the same time,” he said.
Tender
The duration of tender to rear fishes in the lake will be over by June end. Contracts will be handed out immediately after that. “Earlier, it took more than two-three months to issue fresh contracts. With this proc
ess being made more efficient, loss suffered by contractors during this time has been avoided,” Shetty added.
The government prior to this has completely ignored the occupation.
Now, fisheries has been given a new leash of life, loan and interest upto Rs 25,000 has been waived with emphasis on inland fishing, he said.
District-in-Charge Minister G T Devegowda expressed his dissatisfaction over the opposition to Mysooru Utsava proposed by him. “I am trying to do some developmental work. Why are people not opposing this congregation as well? Mysooru Utsava is also being organised to encourage artists,” he said.
He said fish selling centres with modern facilties should be set up in the middle of the city. Farmers should also rear fish, goat, sheep, hens etc along with agriculture.
“Lately, young men are about flaunting, even if they don’t earn a penny. They are not game to earn through hard work,” he said.
Further, requesting the Muzrai minister to grant more funds to Mysore, GTD said the city should be considered under special category since it has more number of temples. “Hence, please allocate more funds for the renovation works at these temples,” he said.
