What the fish! Godavari Pulasa selling for Rs 4,000 per kg

VISAKHAPATNAM: There is a popular saying in Andhra, Pustelu ammi ayina Pulasa tinocchu. Roughly translated, it means “it's worth eating Pulasa by even selling the mangalsutra“.
If it's Pulasa, it has to be Godavari Pulasa, considered the tastiest, and also the costliest of all the varieties of the popular fish. Normally sold in the rainy season in Godavari districts, it has now hit the markets in Vizag.And it's selling for as much as Rs 4,000 per kg! Though the core city has 26 fish markets, Pulasa is mainly available in key places like the City Central Fish Market (CCFM) at Dwarakanagar, opposite to VUDA's Central Park.Normally, two types of Pulasa are sold in the city -one is the original Pulasa from River Godavari, while the second comes from the Ganges near Kolkata.
“I bring the original Godavari Pulasa which sell for around Rs 4,000 per kg. There is a big difference between Godavari Pulasa and the ones from the Ganges, which fetch around `700 to `900 per kg. People will have to closely observe while buying the fish,“ said K Raja Varma, proprietor of Varma's Seafood at the CCFM.
According to sources, around 50 kg of Pulasa hit the city markets daily. “As the Godavari Pulasa is costly, we bring just about 10 kg and that too depends on advance booking from customers,“ said another fish vendor at the market. The fish from the Ganges are also in demand and sell around 40 kg per day. Visakhapatnam district fisheries joint director Dr P Shankara Rao told TOI that the original Pulasa is available at Dowleswaram in East Godavari district. K Satyanarayana, managing director of SVBC Gold, said he often banks on his friends in Godavari districts to get him the fish: “Pulasa is a premium delicacy. We wait the whole year for August, as that's when the original Godavari Pulasa hits the markets. We also book it through genuine vendors in Vizag city,“ he said.