KOHAT: Rohu fish has flooded the market where people throng stalls to buy uncooked or fried fish from the available variety to enjoy the taste as well as get warmth during winter.

The sale and cooking points have sprung up in different areas of the city where people enjoy eating Rohu and Mahseer for their delicious taste. However, people also buy Kharata fish for its cheap price.

A shopkeeper, Shahid, said that people who knew about Rohu insisted on buying the one with blackish back because of its taste despite the fact that the fish had small needle-like bones.

Mahseer is available in big pieces of five-six kilogrammes and has comb-like single integrated bone and its consumption is hassle-free. However, if a large piece of Rohu comes in a consignment it is purchased instantly even at high price. Rohu is available at Rs240 per kilogramme and Mahseer at Rs320 per kg, while the cooked pieces fetch Rs350 per kg and Rs450 per kg, respectively, said Mr Shahid.

In winter, the Tanda Dam becomes a popular resort especially on Fridays where people go to have fresh from the lake Rohu.

Owner of the Tanda restaurant said that as it was difficult to catch fish in winter he kept a stock of Rohu for the whole week to serve the visitors on Fridays. “I have deputed freelancers who dip their rods into the lake from early morning and get two to three pieces if luck sides with them. I buy the Rohu from them. Use of net is prohibited by the fisheries department so the catch is little with rods,” he said.

Owing to the great demand for Rohu in winter many hotels have appeared one of which is Khan Hotel on Bannu road. Acres of land is lying unused there so the owner started a fish corner with mud ponds where he keeps the fish. He buys baby fish from the hatchery and put them in the ponds in summer to have a stock of the grown up in winter.

Published in Dawn December 24th, 2016