Fish parlours to come up in Uttar Pradesh

To provide a vital forward linkage to fisheries, the Uttar Pradesh government has embarked upon a plan to open fish parlours under public-private partnership (PPP) all over the state.

These parlours will sell a variety of fish preparations at the right price in the towns and cities of UP. The scheme is aimed at integrating fish production to the supply chain to benefit the producers and small fisherman.

While the land for such parlours would be owned by the private parties, the government will provide credit facility for the venture and act as a facilitator, Fisheries Director Anita Mishra told Business Standard.

The private parties for the venture have been identified and the parlours would be rolled out by May.

"We were aiming to open such parlours in the current fiscal but things could not materialise as planned," she informed.

Earlier, the fisheries department used to run mobile outlets vending fish dishes in Lucknow. However, they were closed down due to operational losses and lack of infrastructure support. But now the department has adopted the PPP model to engage private partners.

Initially, two or three parlours will be opened in each district of the state. The number will be increased depending on the success, Mishra added.

Besides, there are other plans to boost fisheries in the state, which includes setting up training centres for fish farmers and producers.

The state government is also aiming at establishing more hatcheries in the private sector to cope with the high demand for fish seed.

UP annually requires 120 crore fish seeds, while the hatcheries in the private and public sectors jointly produce about 105 crore fish seeds, leaving a gap of 15 odd crores every year.

The department has received Rs 11 crore under the National Agriculture Development Proramme, which will be used to develop 2,100 hectares of water area for fisheries.

UP has an estimated 4.32 lakh hectare inland water area, besides 28,500 kms of waterways, which offer huge opportunities for the development of the industry.

UP Fisheries Cooperative Federation Ltd, which has about 450 fisheries cooperative societies registered with it, has also tied up with public sector banks and insurance companies to provide insurance and credit to small fish farmers.