Trout breeding farm lying defunct for years

KULLU: The trout fish breeding farm at Hamani village in the Tirthan valley of Banjar subdivision has been lying defunct for the past many years

Updated At : 06:24 AM Aug 19, 2016 IST

The defunct trout farm at Hamani village in Banjar subdivision of Kullu.

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, August 18

The trout fish breeding farm at Hamani village in the Tirthan valley of Banjar subdivision has been lying defunct for the past many years.

Gurcharan Singh, Director (Fisheries), said the project was started in 2006 and the farm construction was undertaken by The Himachal Pradesh Housing And Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA). The project was being developed to promote aquaculture tourism in the valley as the government had not allowed hydel power projects on the Tirthan river to ensure conservation of fish, especially trout.

With the passage of time, the water level of the Tirthan river receded due to erosion and water did not enter the farm from the intake channel. The construction was later undertaken by the engineering wing of the HP Aquaculture, Fishing and Marketing Society (HPAFMS), Singh said.

A barrage was constructed on the Tirthan last year to raise the level of water to rejuvenate the farm. Breeding of trout fingerlings would be commenced soon, the director added.

However, the barrage constructed on the Tirthan river by the Fisheries Department to rejuvenate the trout fish breeding farm has invited ire of the residents of the region. They alleged that after the barrage was built, water from the Tirthan entered their premises and damaged the buildings. They further alleged that a protection wall built to restrain the water from entering the adjoining land of the villagers was damaged and water was entering fields from various points.

Tulle Singh, a local resident, said water had entered the premises of Nokhu Singh, Tikmu Devi, Ishwar Singh and Dur Singh. Officials of the department had visited the spot and assured them that the protection wall would be constructed when the level of water recedes. The officials assured compensation to the affected persons, he added.

Another resident, Ankit, lamented that the project was delayed due to the overflow of water in the adjoining land. He appealed to the department to ensure safety of the residents and their properties.