Srinagar: Anantnag is a place with abundant water resources which provide opportunities to the people to invest in fish farming, agriculture, horticulture and other activities.
Many successful entrepreneurs in these fields have emerged in the district with Bilal Ahmad Khan, a Post Graduate from Sheikhpora Nussu Badragund of Tehsil Qazigund being one of them. Coming from a water-surplus village, he decided to utilise the available water and land resources for making his livelihood.
Assisted by the Fisheries Department through PM’s Package, Khan set up a private fish farm in 2007 and has been rearing carp fish (common carp, grass carp and silver carp) in it.
He regularly received feed and stock from the department and also participated in its awareness programmes on latest and efficient fish farming practices.
With active support from his family members, Khan made most of the available resources and inputs from government/market like feed, stock, nets etc and soon the venture returned profits.
The farm employees over 10 people every year during the peak season in Autumn for selling fish.
“When you have some resources and get opportunities, you should strive hard to turn the smallest of them into remarkable success,” Khan observes.
Encouraged by initial gains, he diversified the activities at the farm and built a small pond and children amusement park by its side. He purchased pedal boats and other equipments from Kolkata and started providing boating and recreation services, first of its kind in the whole area.
Speaking about his enterprise, Khan says that he and his family have been working very hard to make the activity rewarding besides providing children and people of the nearby villages certain amusement services.
Starting from a relatively small business, with hard work and active support from his family and the department, he is the owner of a sustainable entrepreneurial unit now.
Khan wants more people to visit this place and appeals to the local administration to promote and help his initiative through interventions by Floriculture, Tourism and other sectors besides advising youth to avail the existing schemes of government and also utilise the available resources optimally.
Assistant Director Fisheries, Sideeq Wani said that the department is running a plethora of schemes in fish farming and a number of prosperous fish rearers have reaped benefits from the practice in the district. He added the place has tremendous potential for fish farming and urged the youth to take advantage of the schemes to make a profitable living out of them.
The District Development Commissioner, Dr. Piyush Singla congratulated Bilal Ahmad Khan for his success adding his passion and hardwork are examples for others to emulate as well. He informed that line departments have been directed to ensure massive awareness and cent percent saturation of welfare and development schemes besides proper handholding of the aspiring eligible youth in self-employment sector for the collective benefit of people in the district.
