Ongole: Issues of aqua industries will be resolved said Balineni Srinivasa Reddy

Ongole: Minister for Energy, Forests, Environment, Science, and Technology Balineni Srinivasa Reddy said here on Wednesday that the government is taking measures to help the aqua industry in the State. He was organising a meeting with the stakeholders in the aqua industry, including the aqua farmers and processing unit owners in the district at the Collectorate here.

The Minister said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is taking all measures for the export of the aqua products. He appreciated the aqua processing units for coming forward to purchase the aqua produce.

The government has taken decisions to provide a minimum support price to the aqua farmers and is planning to transport the produce from the coastal areas. He advised the farmers to start employing men to catch the fish and prawns. As many as 13 containers with aqua products are ready for dispatch to China from the Krishnapatnam port.

District Collector Pola Bhaskara said that stringent action would be taken against those troubling the aqua farmers. The government has bestowed all decision-making powers on the Collectors and warned that he will act tough. He said the administration will help the farmers.

He promised to take the matter to the MPEDA chairman, if necessary. The farmers and owners of the processing units requested the Collector to permit them to test the samples before exporting them at the labs.

Chirala MLA Karanam Balaramakrishnamurthy, A J V K Narendra Prasad, DRO V Venkata Subbaiah, ZP CEO Kailash Giriswar, fisheries JD A Chandrasekhara Reddy, AD V V R Babu and other officials also participated in the meeting.