The State Government will open modern fish retailing centres in cities of Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur soon. High-quality fish will be available to buyers at these centres, officials informed in a meeting presided over by Fisheries Minister Brijmohan Agrawal. The Fish Retailing Centre in Raipur will be opened at Jawahar Nagar Market. Wholesale fish market will be opened at Mandi Gate, Pandri. The Raipur Municipal Corporation will operate both the fish-selling centres, they stated.
Fisheries Department will operate the fish-selling centres at Bilaspur and Durg. The State Government has sanctioned Rs2 crore for the purchase of fishing nets and ice-boxes which will be distributed free of cost to the beneficiaries. The State Agriculture Department has decided to distribute the nets and ice-boxes to 4,000 Fishermen Co-operative Societies to coincide with the ‘lok Suraj’ campaign to be launched on April 14.
Fisheries Department Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Singh and Director of Fisheries VK Shukla and a number of officers were present at the meeting. The officers said that ‘Cage Culture’ system of fish-rearing programmes was started in Chhattisgarh. The State tops the list of Cage Culture pattern of fish production. They are grown in in Saroda Sagar, Sheer Pani, Gonga canal, Jhumka waters and Tourenga waters.
About 350 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of fish was produced with Cage Culture system. The Department is operating a scheme of constructing houses for fishermen. About 400 houses will be built for fishermen families in 2015-16. The Department officers revealed that Chhattisgarh is self-sufficient in fish production. The fish seed needed for fishermen is produced in the State iteslf. About 2.849 lakh Metric tonne fish was produced in 2014-15.
The progressive farmers are producing 8,000 to 12,000 kilograms per hectare of fish like Katla, Rouhu and Mrugal varieties. About 70 tonnes per hectare of Pongosiasis variety of fish is also produced in the State. In February this year, the State Government had announced that about 39000 fishermen of the State would get employment by fish farming in the Anicuts and barrages constructed over rivers and nullahs.
The Government has also banned breeding, farming, transport and trade of Big Head and Mangur species of fishes in the State. Decisions in this regard were taken by the State Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh. In the meeting it was resolved that the fishermen should be included as members of more than 1000 Fishermen Cooperative Societies of the State. They would be given opportunity of fish farming in the 400 Anicuts constructed in past few years and the Anicuts and barrages under construction in the State.
The Anicuts and barrages would be allotted to the Fishermen Cooperative Societies by the Directorate of Fisheries as per procedure. The water reservoirs with capacity greater than 1000 hectares would be allotted to Matatsya Mahsangh which will auction these bodies as per procedure. Those who get these reservoirs through tender will provide advance techniques of fish farming to the fishermen besides employment to them.
The Cabinet also decided to ban the breeding, farming, transportation and trade of Big Head and Mangur fishes in the State. These foreign fishes eat the local species and thereby posing a potential threat on the existence of local species. The Cabinet also decided that the registration fee and stamp duty should be waived from the land transferred to the Chhattisgarh Housing Board for Affordable Housing Scheme.
There was a quantum jump in fish production in Chhattisgarh which now stands higher than the national average, officials claimed. The fish production was 2,975 kilo per hectare in 2013-14, while the national average is 2,650 kilo per hectare, they stated. Moreover, Chhattisgarh is one of the States in the country which has a college exclusively offering courses in Fisheries and Allied Sciences. The college is located in Kawardha town of Kabirdham district.
Incidentally, with growing focus even on imparting Agricultural education, there are now a total of 31 Government and private Agriculture colleges in the Chhattisgarh in which 1700 students are pursuing their studies. In year 2013-14, fish seeds worth 1.22 crores were produced. More than two lakh fishermen have been provided employment opportunities through development of 94 per cent of the total area of 1.635 lakh hectares is available in the State for fishery.
Giving due importance to Agriculture, the State Government presented its first agricultural Budget in year 2013-14. Farmers need cash for various agricultural activities right from sowing to reaping. The Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu University has been established to educate and promote research work in the field of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
The State Government has sent a proposal of Rs10 crores to ICAR for modernisation of Agri-farms under the Agriculture Department, he said. It may also be recalled that the Agriculture Service Centres established by Chhattisgarh Government provide agricultural equipments on rent to the farmers, officials stated here. This apart, the State Government’s Kisaan Samriddhi Yojana has also proved to be a boon for farmers. Under this scheme, farmers are provided section-wise grant for tube-well digging, they stated. More than 75,000 farmers have been benefited under the scheme. The State Government is operating number of other schemes, which have proved extremely beneficial for the farmers.
Besides cultivation, animal husbandry and fishery are the additional source of income for farmers. Hence, the State Government has included animal husbandry and fishery under its all-round agricultural development policy. With the help of Government schemes, large number of farmers has taken up employment-oriented activities to march ahead on the path of progress.