Case2-March-2013
Chittoor district is located in the Southern end of the Andhra Pradesh. Anantapur and Kadapa districts bound it on the North, Nellore district on East, Vellore district (Tamil Nadu) on the South and Kolar district (Karnataka) on the West. This significant district of Andhra Pradesh covers an extent of 15152 Sq. Km. It is divided into three Revenue divisions viz., Chittoor, Tirupati and Madanapalle. It is situated between 12037” of Northern latitude and 78055” of the Eastern longitude and an altitude of 2386 feet (MSL). The district has high density of minor irrigation tanks numbering 8,814 with a total command area of 2.95 Lakh acres.
Punganur is located at 13.3667°N 78.5833°E.It has an average elevation of 730 meters (2398 feet). Punganur is an important junction for the arterial roads to Madanapalle (and onwards to Anantapur), Malur (and onwards to Kolar and Bangalore), Chittoor (and onwards to Tirupati & Katpadi), and also to Kuppam (and onwards to Dharmapuri, Salem). It is probably one of the oldest towns in this region and records indicate that this region indulged in trading with the Romans.
It has piligrim centers surrounded and is considered as the junction between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The famous Boyakonda Gangamma Temple is located near to this town. It is basically a market town, with a lot of motor ancillary mini-industries. It has a very nice and cool climate when compared to other places of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. However, it is still not developed when compared to other places of Chittoor District. The place was famous for its breed of cows. This breed of cows was very small in size, very tame and domesticated. The breed is almost extinct now. It was a Zamindari before independence. There is a fort with a palace inside. At present both are in ruins. There is a school “BASAVA RAJA BOARD HIGH SCHOOL” which was established more than 100 years ago.One of the oldest high schools in the Chittoor district. The place was ruled by a benovelent zamindari family. Most of the employees in the palace were from (Mala and Madiga castes) Daliths, in those days when Untouchability was very prevalent. Children from the zamindari family were also studying the same school along with commoners and were given no special treatment. Mr. Basava Raja the then Zamindar was elected as an MLA in 1959 or so on an independent ticket with maximum majority. It was very famous for its tamarind business, its have lot of tamarind trees round the city. In addition to Telugu people Tamil and Muslim people are also staying here in a large number. Punganur is also called as Temple town because of various old and fine temples in it.
Punganur is one of the more numbers of traditional water harvesting structures called tanks for irrigation and other domestic purposes in the Chittoor district. Because of poor maintenance and care, majority of the tanks are heavily silted up, the feeder channels are encroached by the farmers. Majority of the tanks did not having the tank accessories like surplus weir, structured sluice, surplus coarse and feeder channels.
Fish rearing is one of the prominent activities which farmers go during a particular period when rain comes. When we see the rainfall status from the last 11 years no tank in the block got filled and this questions the existence of tanks. However in punganur fish rearing is practiced generally in Farm ponds (this are the water harnesting structures which catches the drops of water that falls on ground). The major fingerlinks stocked from the inception are Common carp, Big head, Cat fish, Grass corp, Mrigal-Mrigal, Rohu-Rohu, katla-Katka
Although smallholders may not produce huge quantities of fish, yields are manageable and harvests are easy to process and store. However, smallholders rarely participate in formal markets and often exchange their fish for other household needs releases cash for other purchases. Improved production techniques and better management practice can increase the production of fish from Farm ponds and with higher yields, supply to local markets can become an income generating activity for the households. Raising fish is an observable use for a farm pond; fish adds value to the water. From a farming systems fish uses agricultural and household waste into food when used as feed. The few experiences of fish rearing in punganur offer models in small-scale fish rearing practices for other regions. An important lesson from the Punganur models is that fish farming is effectively integrated with the small farming practices.
In the last financial year we are able to construct 367 farm ponds as part of IWMP watershed project. The main idea behind this is that the farmer will be able to catch the little drops of water that falls on ground and can provide him various additional source of income like irrigating a small piece of land, Water used by domestic animals and based on the land type can go for rearing of fish.
Since there are very little rains we are not able to stock fish from the last couple of years. The below details can show the status from 2007 to 2011. However the stocking was majorly done in Farm ponds and open wells.
| S.No. | Financial year | No. of fingerlings stocked |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-2008 | 43,400 |
| 2 | 2008-2009 | 28,000 |
| 3 | 2009-2010 | 75,000 |
| 4 | 2010-2011 | 37,600 |
As already said Punganur is known for its drought the major sources for fish rearing are Farm ponds, Mini percolation tanks, Percolation tanks, Check dams and if there is rain fall we can even go for tanks, but there is a large scope for stocking fingerlings in small water structures like farm ponds.
The folowing are the financial year wise stocking details in punganur.
| Water bodies | 2007- 2008 | 2008- 2009 | 2009- 2010 | 2010- 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farm ponds | 3 | 22 | 35 | 18 |
| MPTs | 5 | 14 | 34 | 15 |
| Check Dams | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Open wells | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Tanks | 2 | 3 | 20 | 26 |
All farm ponds serve as water storage for the field. The pond site depends on a good water supply. Consideration needs to be taken on how the water enters the pond, how it is managed for fish production and used for maximum benefit to the farm. The advantages of multiple use have already been described. To benefit from these advantages, the pond system must be planned and built well. Pond systems generally have an inlet and an outlet structure including a spillway or overflow for excess water. These structures can be of various designs and materials. They can be made from materials available on the farm or locally and should require no or very minimal cash outlay. Ponds must be built from compacted soils with a proper design to avoid erosion, minimize maintenance and extend its life. The initial labour requirement to build is very less and it majorly depends on the size required and based on the water storage stocking can be done.