In Bathinda district of Punjab, India's second freshwater aquaculture research centre will come up. This will be the ninth fish research centre to be developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in India and is aimed at expanding fish farming in the pond areas that have both brackish and fresh water.

In the past one year this would be the fourth centrally-funded institution that has either come up or has been approved in Bathinda. An All India Institute of Medical Sciences has already been approved here while the foundation-laying ceremony for the Central University is likely on September 7.

According to CIFA and state fisheries department, there are 750 hectares of panchayat ponds and 250 hectares of private fish farms in Bathinda with just 76 fish farmers. The state fisheries department statistics show that Bathinda ranks third in Punjab after Ludhiana and Sangrur in terms of fishery resources and fish production. Punjab has overall 36,682 acres of water bodies, including panchayati and private ponds where fish farming is being done.

Source: http:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com /