Murrel is official Telangana fish

Murrel fish (Koramenu in Telugu), one of the expensive species among other fish available in the region, has been declared as the state fish in Telangana state.

In an official order on Wednesday, Principal Secretary (Animal Husbandry and Fisheries) Suresh Chanda notified the fish, known as Channa Striata, as state fish.

Officials said that the announcement would pave way for doing more research on the particular species and also promote natural cultivation. 

Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This would also help to in securing more Central funds and encourage aqua farming in a big way in the future.

The particular species would not be grown through artificial seedlings. The cost of Murrel fish is nearly Rs 500 per kg in the open market.

People consume the snake-headed Murrel as staple protein food. Murrel fishlings have been used in fish medicine by the Bathini brothers during the beginning of every rain season in the city. People believe that the medicine would help them in curing asthma, a respiratory disease.