SOCIO - ECONOMIC STATUS OF INLAND FISHING COMMUNITY IN MAHABUBNAGAR DISTRICT OF TELANGANA STATE

Telangana State's fishing communities struggle to maintain their way of life in the face of several obstacles, such as diminishing availability and access to fish resources, a lack of fishing and harvesting methods, and quickly changing socioeconomic situations. In an attempt to close this knowledge gap, the study examines socioeconomic status, community cultural aspects, family dynamics, family size and composition, education and are just a few of the issues that the study highlights. In this regards, a total, 320 samples households, representing 8 villages spread throughout 4 Mandals (Mahabubnagar Rural, Moosapet, and Boothpur, Jadcherla) from Mahabubnagar district in Telangana. The study concluded that, the majority of respondents are owners, while the remaining few live in rental or temporary housing. All fisherman households are below the below poverty level (BPL). Surprisingly, only overwhelming participants disclosed that there are no WASH related and medical issues in the study villages. The study found that, in the fishing communities, traditional marriage systems are still in existence and have not changed much. The study finds that, fishing is a relatively small percentage of the workforce (below 3 percent) for a variety of reasons such as- poor rainfall, seasonal job, poor salary, and fewer workdays than other occupations. For these reasons, the primary source of income for the fishermen is agriculture.