The weed-grown ponds may not offer a pleasing sight for eyes, but if someone is ready to give the water bodies a makeover in a productive way, he can literally harvest gold.
Anyone interested in engaging in aquaculture can approach the City Corporation and take a pond on lease for a year. Recently, the civic body thus allocated two ponds - one at Kazhakkoottam and the other at Chellamangalam - for individuals to rear fish for a period of one year. Both ponds were allotted through auctions.
Now, interested people can approach the councillors of the ards where ponds are situated to proceed with the project.
“The City Corporation is, for the first time, entrusting the ponds with private parties to rear fish. There are ponds which are well-maintained and those that are not. If the party expresses willingness to clean and use it for fish cultivation, they can do it. In the two ponds allocated, the cultivation will start soon,” said Shajida Nazar, Development Standing Committee chairperson.
In both ponds, edible varieties of fish are to be cultivated. While yielding a revenue for the civic body, the profit will go to the cultivator.
‘Matsya Samrudhi’
‘Matsya Samrudhi’, a project launched by the Fisheries Department in June last year, has been well received here as nearly 125 cultivators have been rearing fish in ponds and tanks. Among them, more than 60 are carrying out the activity in ponds. The project was launched with the aim of raising fish production by 2.5 lakh tonnes in three years.
“The fish seeds are provided free of cost by the government. For an area of one cent, 20 fish seeds are distributed. The project has been receiving a good response from those interested and most of them have experience in aquaculture,” said Johny C, coordinator under the Corporation.
On producing the bill, the amount spent towards buying fish food would be given subsidy. Very soon, fish seeds of ‘karimeen’ will be supplied to the cultivators.