Farming in flow-through concrete ponds known as jhora, which is practised in the hills of West Bengal, is not only helping locals to get healthy diet of food but has been also supplementing their families’ incomes. Jeet Bahadur Subba, a retired government employee, resides in Riang, a remote hamlet located on the hills of Kalimpong district of West Bengal.
The 61-year-old often finds it difficult to procure food items, especially vegetables and fruits, from the market because of the transportation problems in the hilly terrain, coupled with his financial constraints. But still he ensures that his family gets enough intake of protein.
He gives credit to a pond, locally called a jhora, located inside the boundary of his house for providing a regular supply of fish to his family.
“We live in a terrain which is far away from the city and surrounded by hills. The local markets do not always have an ample supply of fruits and vegetables, but jhoras compensate the deficiency by providing us with a regular supply of fish,” he says. “The size of my cemented pond is around 43 ft by 33ft with a 3.5 ft depth of water. I had released around 1,000 fingerlings, mostly common carp and grass carp, around eight months ago. We fed them with rice bran, organic manure and soya beans.
“Fifty died due to extreme cold conditions in the hills last year. The rest survived and have attained a size of around half a kilo. We catch them as per our need. The fish tastes delicious and are also sold to neighbours who make advance booking for it. It also helps me to generate some extra income.”
Jeet is not alone. Over 6,000 locals are involved in jhora fish farming in the hills of Darjeeling and nearby Kalimpong – largely for subsistence purposes, while a small portion are offered for sale. Jhora fish farming implies fish culture in artificial tanks fed by perennial spring water flowing from the mountains. It’s a unique form of cold water fish farming, that – in India – only takes place in the snow-capped hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, regions that attract tourists from across the globe.
“Under this method, we [farmers] select a small patch of land, normally outside the house and construct a tank there. The tanks vary in size, depending upon the availability of the land. The water is supplied to the tank with the help of long pipes that are connected with the hilly streams flowing a few metres away from the tanks,” explains Sarad Rai, a jhora fish farmer in Kalimpong.
“The water flows uninterrupted around the clock, which helps to maintain the oxygen level. Besides, a small outlet is also constructed in the tank to ensure that the surplus water gets released. The released water, which contains fish waste, offers rich organic feed to the agro-farming. The fish farming is done throughout the year and the catch is used mostly for self-consumption,” he adds.
Senior fisheries department officials say that the tank size depends upon the terrain, “The region is full of hills and uneven land which makes it difficult to build large tanks. We provide them with fingerlings, nets and feed once in year,” said Sarthak Pradhan, fishery extension officer in Darjeeling district.
“We previously gave Rs 8,000-10,000 INR ($105-$130) subsidies to the farmers for the construction of the tanks, but no such subsidy has been given by the government for the past two years,” he adds. Given the simplicity of the system it might seem strange that it is only used in Darjeeling hills, but there are a number of reasons why it’s not more widespread. Partha Pratim Das, assistant director of fisheries for West Bengal, explains that the hills in north Bengal are still pristine and pollution-free in several areas, which is not the case with other parts of India.
“We are lucky to have a rich forest in north Bengal that ensures the steady supply of water across most of the year. People are nature worshippers and worship local water sources and encircle them with a boundary wall to prevent them from getting polluted. The water is also rich in minerals which help the growth of the fish. The non-contaminated water supply also minimises the spread of diseases,” Das explains. “The average size of the tanks is 23 ft x 10 ft and can go up to 40 ft x 15 ft and even beyond in some cases, depending upon the nature of the land. On average each jhora is stocked with 1,000 fish.”
The roots of jhora farming
Jhora fish culture started in the early 1980s, when the state government intervened and built concrete ponds for the villagers to boost fish farming and ensure healthy diets for them.
“We have been doing fish farming for the past several years but the method was different. We used to excavate a small earthen pond near the stream and release some fingerlings there. The stream ensured the 24/7 availability of water. But the government formalised the system and built a concrete tanks for us in 1982 to attract more people to farming,” says Pawan Bhutiya, 65, a farmer in Kalimpong district.
“The government started fish culture by setting up nine small demonstration units (13.0 m2 ) to study the growth of fishes in high altitudes. Economically viable species that thrive well in these conditions were selected. The results were encouraging. Around 100-120 kg of table fish was harvested from each jhora pond after nine months. The production encouraged the administration to start fish farming on a large scale in the hills and locals were provided with 50 percent subsidy assistance for pond construction.”
At present, around 5,000 jhoras (tanks) are present in the Kalimpong and Darjeeling hills….