Chandauli To Have Its First-of-Its-Kind State-of-The-Art Integrated Fish Marketing Centre in India

Chandauli is set to open the country's first state-of-the-art integrated fish marketing centre (IFMT).

"The proposal for building IFMT at Chandauli was finalised, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, which highlighted the need to boost fish export from the Varanasi region to other states during his evaluation of various development initiatives in Varanasi. It would be the country's first of its sort," said Deepak Agrawal, divisional commissioner.

"The state government gave its approval to the IFMT project on March 30, following which the process of floating a tender began," said NS Rehmani, deputy director fisheries (Varanasi division). The UP Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), or Mandi Parishad, has given up a hectare of land on its campus near Chandauli district headquarters for free, while the IFMT would cost Rs 70 crore," he added.

"With the support of user charges from traders, APMC's construction wing will implement the project and will also care after post-construction upkeep," he added.

"The projected IFMT would contain all facilities for fish farmers, including technical help, aside from wholesale and retail fish markets and aquarium fish trade wing," added Rehmani.

Fish farming is emerging as the fastest growing sector as far as animal food production is concerned. Fishes alone from sea and rivers are not enough for human consumption and half of the consumed fish all over the world are raised in these unreal environments. Most common farmed fish varieties include salmon, halibut, cod, tuna and trout.

Due to the extreme demand for fish in India, starting a fish farm business can be a good option for Indian population. Right now, fish farming is not limited to only fishermen and the people from the coastal regions, but many businessmen and entrepreneurs from all sorts of sectors are diving into the fishery sector of the country. New technologies such as aquaponics and tank fish breeding have made it easy for us to start fish farming in the littlest of space.