Under the Blue Revolution Scheme, two fish hatcheries were sanctioned to Nalgonda district at a unit cost of Rs 25 lakh and funds were also released. Though 50 per cent subsidy would be extended for setting up of fish hatcheries, officials of the Fisheries Department have not received any application under the scheme. The criteria for selection of beneficiaries for fish hatchery was that the candidate should have five acres of land with availability of water. Due to the lack of publicity on Blue Revolution Scheme, sanctioned fish hatcheries were in the dark. In an Interview to Telangana Today, deputy director of Fisheries Dr S Murali Krishna, who inspected the office of Assistant Director of Fisheries in Nalgonda, said that people of all castes can avail the facility of the fish hatcheries with subsidy. There were misconceptions that people belonging only to the fishermen community were eligible for the scheme, but people of all castes can apply for the scheme, he said. Stating that Nagarjuna Sagar Project was suitable for cage culture, he reminded that eight cage culture units were sanctioned to Nalgonda district by the government. He pointed out that two cage culture units were already set up in the waters of Nagarjuna Sagar Project with a unit cost of Rs 30 lakh. One unit of cage culture would have 10 cages. The government was extending 80 per cent funds and the beneficiary should bear 20 per cent of expenditure for setting up of cage cultures. As it was not affordable for poor fishermen as seen in Maharashtra, another 10 per cent subsidy was being extended from Crucial Balance Fund of the Collector concerned. Krishna will meet Nalgonda Collector Gaurav Uppal and request extension of an additional 10 per cent subsidy from the Crucial Development Fund in the district too. Availability of water in tanks and reservoirs with a depth of 20 feet was suitable for cage culture. Such reservoirs were many in number in Nalgonda district, he said. He said that if Fishermen Cooperative Societies require, cage culture units would be sanctioned. A proposal has been sent to the government for setting up of cage culture units in the waters of the Musi project at Bopparam village of Kethepally mandal in the district, he said. When the deputy director was informed that release of fish seedlings and fish hunting was unofficially banned in six water bodies including Udhaya Samudram Balancing Reservoir for nearly last one decade on the pretext of drinking water sources, he clarified that breeding of fish in drinking water sources would not contaminate the water in anyway. However, special care should be taken to ensure good quality of fish seedlings and nets, he said. The fish varieties of Bangaru Theega and Muragala would also be released into the reservoirs that are drinking water sources, but fishermen should not use dragnets to catch fish, he said. Stating that as fresh rainwater has filled up the reservoirs and village tanks, Dr Murali Krishna said that the fish seedlings would grow more weight than last year. Stating that 713 villages tanks have received sufficient water for fish breeding, he said that 2.43 crore fish seedlings would be released into the water bodies in the second phase. Also, he said that due to heavy imports from other States, he said that fishermen would get a good price during October and November.