TN farmers seek release of 8 cr fish fingerlings into waterbodies
According to the farmers, as water has been flowing all along the rivers and canals across the Delta region after the Mettur reservoir was opened on the customary date of June 12, the fish wealth is not visible even after 60 days.;
Freshwater fish
TIRUCHY: Farmers have demanded that the fisheries department officials release fingerlings into Mettur, upper anicut and lower anicut to ensure the livelihood of the inland fishermen who depend on the waterbodies.
According to the farmers, as water has been flowing all along the rivers and canals across the Delta region after the Mettur reservoir was opened on the customary date of June 12, the fish wealth is not visible even after 60 days.
Once water is released from the Mettur, as many as 16 districts benefit from the water. The tanks and lakes are recharged and these waterbodies are the main source of inland fish farming.
But presently, the absence of the fish population raises concerns among the aqua farmers.
“We suspect mixing of effluents from the factories functioning along the Cauvery in Karnataka, Tirupur and Karur, the fish fingerlings might have perished due to the toxic condition or they might have been washed into the sea. We demand the government to check the firms discharge effluents,” said Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.
He also charged that, due to the toxic effluent mixing the water, the banks of the Cauvery were also affected and so the mud crab cultivation has also been affected.
Since the good rainfall is predicted during the upcoming monsoon, it is time that the officials should release at least 8 crore fingerlings in all the waterbodies right from Mettur which would be beneficial for the fishers living along the Cauvery.
He appealed to the government to release the fingerlings on the day when Mettur is opened. “Instead of sprinkling of flowers, the release of fingerlings would help the people,” Vimalnathan said.
When contacted the Assistant Director (Fisheries) from Tiruchy, he said that the government is planning to release fingerlings during the months of September and October. Since the water has been flowing heavily, it is not advisable to release fish fingerlings.
“We will release 4 lakh fingerlings in Tiruchy,” the AD said and added that a similar quantity of fingerlings would be released in every district.