The prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) will not only serve as a source of irrigation and drinking water supply in the State, but will also be turned into an aquaculture hub. The State government is chalking out plans to turn all reservoirs, including Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla, which are part of the project, as fish cultivation centres. Necessary instructions have been issued to the officials to prepare an action plan in this regard. The Fisheries Department had recently instructed its officials from Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Peddapalli and Mancherial districts to prepare an action plan with estimates of water availability in the reservoirs at different points of time over a year, along with feasibility of aquaculture, including fish and prawn farming, and necessary infrastructure and funds for the same. After conducting the study, the officials are expected to submit their reports to the State government in the next couple of months. They were directed to check feasibility of taking up aquaculture in smaller reservoirs under Kaleshwaram project whose construction has been completed. Boost for fisheries The decision comes as a shot in the arm for the Fisheries Department as the Kaleshwaram project is nearing completion and is expected to be ready by June this year. Sources said the State government is considering collaboration with fishermen societies to take up aquaculture in these major reservoirs of the project at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla. We are also planning to establish new fish seed production centres and also food processing units for fish meat and prawns as part of the Integrated Fisheries Development Scheme (IFDS), a senior officer of the Fisheries Department told Telangana Today. Fish production in Telangana is expected to surpass three lakh tonnes this fiscal, following the proactive initiatives of the State government which has been promoting aquaculture in various water bodies and reservoirs for the past couple of years. Earlier, the sector was mainly concentrated in Andhra region in undivided AP. Fish seedlings The fishing distribution scheme was launched in 2016-17 when the State government released 27 crore seedlings in various village tanks, reservoirs and other water bodies across the State free of cost. Buoyed by the success of the initiative, the State government released 51 crore seedlings in 2017-18 and this is expected to increase to about 55 crore fishing during this fiscal. Prawn cultivation taken up last year, is also likely to be promoted in the State after the Fisheries Department finalises the plans.