The fish park at Doranda in Ranchi. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, Jan. 2: The new year has brought in great news for residents of the state capital interested in fishing.

A multi-purpose fish park will open doors in the heart of the city later this month.

Set up by the state government in Doranda, the park will not only have on display a variety of fish, it will also offer quality leisure time to visitors, who just love to pick up the fishing rod and wait for hours for the best catch.

“The park will be inaugurated after January 15. People can spend quality time here with their family members,” said Rajiv Kumar, the director of the state fishery department.

The government converted 22 ponds situated in the area into a beautiful park spread over eight acres. Colourful flower plants dotting the entire place make it more attractive. Special lighting arrangements have been made for the evenings.

The fishery department will rear five varieties of fish in the ponds round the year. They are rohu, katla, mirgal and common carp. But during rainy season, another variety will be added — river carp.

Visitors will be allowed to fish in the ponds at a fee of Rs 50. However, a person can only net one fish with one ticket, Kumar said. Boating facilities will also be available in one of the ponds.

It will be open for public only on weekends and government holidays. The authorities will charge a minimum entry fee from the visitors.

Besides, the park will also act as a fish seed bank for fish growers across the state. Kumar said the state needs about 70 crore fish seeds a year as a huge number of villagers have now taken up fishery as a permanent occupation. But the state has been able to produce only 54 crore fish seeds from various seed centres across Jharkhand.

The seed bank at Doranda would act as a centre, where fish growers would be trained. Officials said fish growers from districts would come to the centre to improve their skills. At present, the state requires about one lakh metric tonne of fish per annum. Earlier, the major portion of fish consumed in the state was procured from states outside Jharkhand.

But after the fishery department took initiatives to promote pisciculture as an occupation among villagers, 50 per cent of the requirement was being met by state fish farms, Kumar said.