The West Bengal government has proposed a new laboratory that will identify the causes of various diseases affecting the fish population. With prawn cultivation in South 24 Parganas nearly wiped out due to the white-spot disease that has been affecting the species since the late 1980s with no sign of control, the government realised the need for a laboratory to carry out research work with the sole aim to learning about the causes of the disease. Government officials said that ever since the late 1980s, when the white-spot disease wiped out the entire scope for prawn cultivation in the South 24 Parganas. In the past, there was no government agency dedicated to finding out the root cause of such diseases. Crores of rupees have been lost due to the prawn cultivation taking a hit with farmers incurring huge losses, an official said. It was learnt that the food given to the prawn underlings were unsuitable, resulting in infections. It has been decided that alongside prawn, Indian carp will also be released, which would help tackle the problem in the future. The new lab will not only carry out the necessary research work to identify any infections but also test the soil in the area where the seed for the Indian carp is to be released. A large chunk of fish in the state comes from Andhra Pradesh and if there is strike or something, the supply is affected and there is crisis in the city and state markets. Steps have been taken to make the state self-sufficient in fish production, added the official. The lab will come up on a 10 acre-plot of land at Chakgeria in South 24 Parganas district, an official informed.
2016 The Indian Express [P] Ltd.