Mark Twain said “Clothes maketh the man”, and the State’s Department of Fisheries agrees wholeheartedly. And proving this is their recently announced scheme to provide uniforms and identity cards to all the door-to-door and mobile fish vendors in the State under the Fisheries Domestic Market (New) scheme in which the purpose is to provide financial assistance to fish sellers.
The scheme under the aegis of Fish Farmers Development Authority (FFDA) or National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) provides for distribution of one bicycle, one icebox and two sets of uniforms to a targeted 5000 traveling fish vendors. This will replace the large open metal pots (called batulas) in which these vendors generally carry fish to sell. Also a grant of Rs 1 lakh per stall will be given as per set norms to those setting up fresh fish stalls in the state. A total of 50 such stalls are planned.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide local fish to the consumers in hygienic condition. Each set of gear — red and white checked shirt, trousers, a red cap with ‘Matsya Vikreta’ emblazoned on it, and a photo identity card — will cost the State Rs1,000.
Female vendors will be given light-blue sarees, aprons and gloves along with Identity cards. The task of distribution has been given to the district fishery officers (DFOs).
As for the Bicycles and ice-boxes that cost ` 7000 each in total, “the vendor will have to shell out 50 per cent of the amount, while the rest will be paid by the department. Those below the poverty line will have to pay only 25 per cent of the amount, but they will have to furnish copies of their BPl card as proof,” said Manoj Kumar, district fisheries officer, Ranchi. “We will also look at the amount of sales per vendor and have set a benchmark of 20-50 kg fish sales,” added Ashish kumar, the deputy director Fisheries.
Around 230 fish vendors in Haldipokhar, Mango, Baharagora, Parsudih in and around Jamshedpur, have already started sporting the uniform given to them in the previous phase of this scheme in 2011-12. And many of the 150 vendors, who received the gear in Ranchi in the same period, have found that the dress code is good for sales.
“The smart uniform and cap make the fish sellers stand out crowded and also imparts the aura of being ‘Government certified’. Customers think that since he has a government uniform, his catch will be better than the others,” said Manoj Kumar. “More people buy from us because they think Sarkari checking wala achcha macchli hai,” said Kesna Kewat, a fishmonger in the Naga-Baba Khatal area. “ Aur saaf bhi lagta hai,” added Malti, his wife.
But the very positives have become negatives in some cases. “ Some vendors wore the uniforms initially, but then stopped because they felt conscious in standing out among the crowd in markets. They felt that once the initial aura wears off, it becomes like a label on their person,” said an official of fisheries department on condition of anonymity.
There are some caveats in the scheme though. Those vendors, who have already received the uniforms and gear in the previous phase, will not be eligible for the same this time.
Also, each fish seller will also have to give a detailed report to their respective DFO every three months.
“We will collect data from each vendor and keep a record of the total quantity of fish sold — both local and its imported variant from Andhra Pradesh,” said Kumar.