GUNTUR: The aqua farmers in Bapatla district are in high spirits as the construction of the high-tech integrated aqua park in Nizampatnam is set to gain pace.
To benefit farmers not only in Bapatla but also in other coastal areas, the State government has planned to set up an aqua park on 192 acres with an investment of Rs 186 crore. The Central government has released Rs 84 crore to start the works of the aqua park. Bapatla district Collector J Venkata Murali said that the park will be set up through a central and private partnership, and Rs 82 crore has already been released.
The State government issued GO 571 allotting survey numbers to the land reclaimed from the sea, and works will begin as soon as permissions from Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) are secured.
He visited the land suitable for the aqua park setup and gave necessary instructions to the officials. In the coastal district, the majority of the population in Repalle, Nizampatnam, Bapatla, Karlapalem, Chirala, Vetapalem, Chinaganjam, Nagaram, Bhattiprolu, and other regions depend on aquaculture, which is spread over 21,400 acres.
The aqua products of the district are very famous worldwide, with varieties of fish and prawns worth Rs 2,250 crore exported to over 52 countries.
Aqua farmers, in order to get quality seeds of various varieties of fish and prawns, had to travel all the way to Chennai, Pondicherry, Rameshwaram, and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, bearing high transport costs. Opining that setting up an aqua park would reduce investment costs, T Krishna
Prasad, an aqua farmer in Chinaganjam, said that it would prevent the hassle of travelling to other States in search of quality seed. With the processing units, farmers would get good selling prices for their produce, he added.
Though the project has been on the cards for the past couple of decades, it was delayed for various reasons. After a long wait, the foundation stone for the construction works was laid in May 2023 by former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The aqua park will be developed as one of its kind in the entire country, producing rare seaweeds and ornamental fish available only in the sea. Food processing units, hatcheries of rare species, and a knowledge centre to educate farmers on the latest technology in use in aquaculture will also be set up.
The aqua park will contribute to the growth of the transport, economic, and tourism sectors in the region and provide direct and indirect employment to over 1,000 people. Aqua tourism will get a boost with the setup of sports fish in over 50 acres. The officials are finishing the groundwork and preparing to start construction works as soon as possible.