65L fish seeds to be put in Pong reservoir to boost productivity

To enhance fish productivity in the Pong reservoir, known as Maharana Pratap Sagar, in the lower Kangra hills, the state Fisheries Department has planned to put 65 lakh fish seeds in it till the end of this month.

As per information, seeds of Katla, Mori, Grass Carp fish species, whose size is above 70 mm, have been used in the reservoir.

The main objective of adding new fish seeds of different species in the reservoir is to boost the income of the fishermen here.

The Fisheries Department imposes a blanket ban on fishing in water reservoirs and water bodies across the state from June 15 to August 15 every year for fish breeding.

According to Vivek Chandel, Director, Fisheries Department, Bilaspur, this year the department has planned to put 30 lakh seeds of Katla species, 20 lakh seeds of Rohru species, 5 lakh seeds of Mori species and 10 lakh seeds of Grass Carp species in the reservoir.

He said the seeds were being put at a particular place, Sihal, on the banks of the reservoir under the supervision of Dr Rakesh Kumar, designated by the department, and in the presence of members of local fisheries cooperative societies, elected representatives of gram panchayats and employees of the Fisheries Department.

“The department had a target of fish production of 340 tonnes till March last year in the Pong reservoir, whereas 330 tonnes of fish had been produced in the same corresponding period last year until March this year,” he said.

As per information, as many as 3,338 fishermen from 15 registered cooperative societies in the Pong reservoir are earning their livelihood by catching fish in the reservoir. Spread over an area of 24,000 hectares, this man-made water body is 42-km long and 19-km wide. The Fisheries Department pays Rs 4,500 for two months to every fisherman as off-season allowance-cum-compensatory financial relief. The fishermen are also getting free accidental insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh and fishing nets and boats at subsidised prices. The Fisheries Societies Association (Pong Reservoir) has been raising the demand for the restoration of the Centre-sponsored Neel Kranti Awas Yojana which had been providing housing facilities to the poor fishermen a few years ago, but the Central Government had withdrawn this scheme.