By TC News Desk
Agartala, 21st November 2024: Fisheries Minister Sudhangshu Das today said that the state government has taken multiple decisions, including reviving abandoned water bodies, to boost fish production in the state.
He announced that an initiative has been taken to build an aqua park integrated with fish farming in the state. It will be constructed around Soteromiar Hawor in the Unakoti district. For this purpose, a project worth ₹100 crore has been submitted to the central government. Meanwhile, the central government has sanctioned ₹43 crore for the implementation of this project.
The Fisheries Minister made these remarks while inaugurating the State-Level World Fisheries Day program at Hall No. 1 of Pragna Bhavan today.
Inaugurating the event, the Fisheries Minister also stated that there are about 2 lakh fish farmers in the state. He emphasized that the fisheries sector is one of the primary sectors in Tripura, along with agriculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry.
“In a short period of time, one can become self-sufficient in fish farming. About 20 to 25 percent of the GSDP in the state comes from related primary sectors, including agriculture. The stronger this sector is, the stronger our country’s economy will be,” he said.
On the occasion, the Fisheries Minister mentioned that Tripura has an annual demand of 1.17 lakh metric tons of fish, while the state produces 85,000 metric tons annually. This creates a shortfall of 32,000 metric tons.
“We have to meet this shortage by importing fish from places like Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. It drains the state’s money. To address this deficiency, initiatives have been taken to expand fisheries by identifying abandoned water bodies in the state. The Chief Minister Matsya Vikas Yojana has been launched to support fishermen,” he said.
The event was attended by Secretary of Fisheries Department Deepa D. Nair, Principal Scientist of ICAR Regional Center (Tripura) Burhan U. Chowdhury, and Professor A. B. Patel, Dean of Fishery College, Lembuchara. Director of Fisheries Department Santosh Das was also present. A documentary on fisheries was screened during the program.
