Rajasthan govt steps in to help fishing communities in tribal areas

The Rajasthan government’s policy of promoting fisheries in tribal areas, under the zero-revenue livelihood model, is generating employment and sources of income, according to a state government official.

More than 6,215 members of 57 tribal fish producer cooperative societies are benefiting from this.

“This is happening in the Jaisamand dam in Udaipur, the Kadana backwaters in Dungarpur, and Mahi Bajaj Sagar in Banswara,” the official said.

“Besides this, the government is paying fishermen in accordance with the breed and size of the fish. The government has got six million fish fingerlings seeds.”

In Rajasthan there are a good many water bodies and about 70 rivers and canals, covering about 30,000 hectares.

Inland fisheries in the state have grown during the past 30 years. The areas under fish culture and fish production have gone up. About 60 per cent of fish production comes from reservoirs and the rest from tanks and ponds.

The output of large reservoirs (55 kg per hectare) is above the national average.
 

The state ranks 18th in the country in fish production.