Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy on Friday accused the Congress-led government of weakening support for the fishermen community. He claimed the administration had reduced the free fish seed supply. Moreover, they completely failed to distribute prawn seed this year.
Speaking at a fish seed release programme held at the SRSP project in Balkonda, Reddy alleged that the Revanth Reddy government was systematically scaling back key welfare schemes. These schemes were introduced by former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. According to him, the fish and prawn seed distribution scheme significantly improved fishing families’ livelihoods over the last decade.
Free fish seed scheme once delivered ₹35 crore worth of support: Reddy
Reddy stated that the previous BRS government ensured uninterrupted supply of fish and shrimp seed. Moreover, he said the administration treated fishermen “like their own sons.” In the Balkonda constituency alone, the KCR government reportedly distributed 1.74 crore fish seed and 68 lakh shrimp seed. The total value is nearly ₹3.7 crore.
Statewide, he added, the BRS regime had supplied 35 crore units of seed over a ten-year period. This amounted to ₹35 crore in support. In contrast, he criticised the Congress government’s failure to continue this assistance, calling it a clear case of neglect.
In addition to seed supply, Reddy pointed out that the BRS government had sanctioned mopeds, TVS Scooties, fishing nets, DCM vehicles, and mobile fish market vans. The total was worth ₹8 crore. Furthermore, eight fisheries cooperative society buildings were constructed at a cost of ₹72 lakh. A dedicated fish market in Balkonda was also developed. It was at an estimated cost of ₹10.77 crore.
Prashanth Reddy urges government to release seed without reductions
Reddy demanded that the current government resume full-scale distribution of both fish and prawn seed without any cuts. He stressed the importance of continuing schemes that directly benefit rural and economically disadvantaged communities. Additionally, he cautioned against weakening programmes that were specifically designed to uplift traditional occupations such as inland fishing.
Fisheries Development Officer Damodar, along with Praveen Reddy, Venkatesh, Narsa Reddy, Sama Venkat Reddy, and several other local leaders and fishermen were present at the event.