Forgot to get packed lunch from home on a busy working day and would like nothing better than a machli-bhaat lunch? Or want to enjoy an evening out with friends over chilli fish and fish fingers but don't want a huge restaurant bill?

Jamshedpur entrepreneurs Saumitra Verma and Sujit Kumar, both 34, who opened an online fish store www.freshmachli.com successfully last year, tying up with Chandil fisherman to help customers literally net fresh catch, will now diversify their business into open-air fish stalls serving affordable curry and snacks at 10 spots across the city.

To be called Jharkhand Fresh Fish, these stalls will come up at Mango, Sonari, Kadma, Golmuri, Sakchi, Bistupur, Telco, Parsudih, Adityapur and Gamharia by first week of March. Before this, the duo will meet Dhalbhum SDO Suraj Kumar for his final seal on the locations.

The stalls would not only sell raw rohu, catla and pangasius (basa), but also fish curry and rice for lunch and snacks in the evening, from crispy fried fish pakodas to fish fingers and chilli fish.

Stressing on hygiene, he said: "Fish needs to be cut, de-scaled and cleaned properly before cooking. We will take care of that. Also, each team of two members deputed at each of our 10 stalls will wear caps, aprons and gloves. Our dishes will be packed in foil and paper containers." Prices would be much lower than those in restaurants, he said.

Armed with a PG diploma from XLRI and MBA from Symbiosis in Pune, Saumitra said he and his friend Sujit, a BTech from BIT-Mesra, had always planned to diversify.

"Once our online Fresh Machli caught on, we wondered what next. When we did a survey on roadside eateries in the city, we found great demand for fish snacks and wholesome fish-and-rice lunches, but customers had hygiene concerns. Many wondered if fish sold on roadsides was fresh. Based on these findings, we decided to launch Jharkhand Fresh Fish stalls from the first week of March," said Saumitra.

Saumitra added they had taken permission from state fisheries department to use idle Fresh Fish pushcarts. Last year, the department had flagged off a project to help fish vendors with subsidised catch but the venture had failed.

"Most iron-and-tin structures given by fisheries department to fish vendors last year are lying abandoned. According to an understanding, we will pay the department a one-time sum to take the fish stalls and open Jharkhand Fresh Fish Stalls," Saumitra said.