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The Government of Telangana is planning to establish Aqua Hubs in proximity to irrigation projects.

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The Government of Telangana is planning to establish Aqua Hubs in proximity to irrigation projects.

The Telangana government is following in the footsteps of its neighboring state, Andhra Pradesh, by promoting aquaculture for commercial purposes. The government plans to establish ‘Aqua Hubs’ to meet the increasing demand for seafood, particularly fish, shrimps, lobsters, and prawns. Suitable locations are being sought at irrigation project sites along the banks of the Krishna and Godavari rivers. The Mid Manair reservoir has been identified as a potential site for the first Aqua Hub in the state. The Animal Husbandry and Fisheries department officials have reported that the government’s ‘Aqua Policy’ has already yielded desirable results. The promotion of aquaculture, mainly shrimps and fish production, has increased manifold in recent years.

Official data shows that prawn production doubled in just eight years, from 6,500 tonnes in 2014-15 to 13,800 tonnes in 2021-2022. New natural techniques have been adopted to promote prawn culture with available water resources in canals and reservoirs constructed on the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project and other projects on the Godavari and Krishna rivers. Locally grown prawns are now available in villages and towns where reservoirs have become centers of aqua production in the state. Fish production has also increased to 3.76 lakh tonnes in 2022 from 2.6 lakh tonnes in 2015, meeting domestic demand for fish supply from Telangana water bodies.

The government believes that there is significant potential to promote the state as an ‘Aqua Hub’, following Andhra Pradesh’s success in aqua production. The Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project and big reservoirs like Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar, and existing old Mid Manair, Nizam Sagar, and Sriram Sagar dams are significant water resources that can be used to promote aquaculture. Abundant land banks on the banks of the water bodies are suitable for setting up Aqua Hubs in public and private partnerships. Local entrepreneurs are being given priority to establish food processing centers in Aqua Hubs. The government plans to make a major announcement soon about the establishment of Aqua Hubs in the state.

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