Haryana feeds Delhites with fish

Chandigarh, Jan 29: Haryana, with a predominantly vegetarian population, today has the second highest productivity of fish in the country and is the main supplier to the National Capital.

An estimated 80 per cent of Haryana's fish production finds its way to Delhi for sale' an official spkesman said. A predominantly vegetarian state with no tradition of fish farming was providing the national capital with fish, straight from its fish farms.

According to rough estimates estimate, 40-45 per cent of the total consumption of fresh water fish in Delhi comes from Haryana.

The current state government is aiming to take this to an estimated high of 80 per cent by selling Haryana fish as a brand.

The fish from Haryana is being marketed extensively in the Sultanpuri wholesale market in Delhi. This fish comes straight from the farms in Haryana and is transported each day in pickup jeeps.

The spokesman said that present average yield is 4576 kg per hectare in a year. This is targeted to be raised to 5,000 kg per hectare by the end of the current financial year.

Haryana is second only to neighbouring Punjab in terms of average fish yield. In Punjab the annual yield is 6094 kg per hectare, while the national average is 2260 kg per hectare.

After the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi, Haryana began to emerge on the national fish map. Following a massive demand for fish from athletes during the games, whatever small fish was being reared in Haryana was sold out.

The high demand and renumirative prices generated interest of farmers in fish farming in the state. Initially, there was stiff opposition from the village population but when profits began pouring in, the resentment of the locals disappeared.

Backed by a decisive push from the present government, the state looks poised to scale new heights in fish farming. During the two years of the UPA government, fish production has increased from 42,050 tonnes in 2004-05 to 48,200 in 2005-06 and is targeted to further rise to 55,000 tonnes by the end of 2006-07. The growthrate of fish production, which was 9.4 per cent in the state up to 2005, is now hovering around 14.4 per cent against the national growth rate of eight per cent.

With the increase in per hectare productivity the average incomes of fish farmers jumped by nearly Rs 11,000 per hectare in an year. In the last two years the strength of the farmers in the fisheries business increased from around 8,000 to nearly 11,000.

The modernised farming concepts adopted by the farmers has led to a decrease in mortality rate in juvenile and adult fish. Haryana is the only state in the country which can boast of fish health care facilities in each district.

The state has 20 fish health care centres, one in each district, 14 aquatic polyclinics, one at each of the government fish seed farms, and a fish diagnostic lab at Aquaculture Research and Training Institute, Hisar with facilities even of post mortem.

The state government has also showered its benevolence on the fish farmers by slashing the electricity tariff by more than 50 per cent from Rs 4.29 per unit to Rs 2 per unit for fish culture undertaken in more than 0.4 hectare water area. VAT on fish feed and fish meal has also now been completely waived off after first reducing it from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent.

UNI