GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday stressed on the need to adopt latest scientific technologies to spur the potential fishery sector in Assam.
“Fishery sector has immense potential and we must vigorously engage in it for deriving maximum benefits. Assam is blessed with abundant water resources and we have the capacity to become biggest producer and exporter of fish in the country. But for that, we must adopt latest scientific technologies for augmenting our production,” Sonowal said while taking part in the function to distribute appointment letters to 32 Junior Engineers of fisheries department at the conference hall of chief minister’s Secretariat, Janata Bhawan.
Appreciating the Fishery Department for being able to increase the state’s fish production by 20,000 metric tonne in 2017-18 from the previous year, the chief minister said that Chief Minister’s Samagra Grammya Unnayan Yojna (CMSGUY), a scheme to transform the rural economy with a budget outlay of Rs 33,000 crore, has also kept fishery as a priority area. The infinite potential of Brahmaputra and Barak rivers must be harnessed to achieve fast paced development of state and vast presence of natural water-bodies must be properly utilised for growing the fishery sector, he said.
Calling on the new appointees to spend a night with the fishermen and the fish producers for understanding their difficulties and challenges, Sonowal directed the Fishery Department to prepare an assessment report of the required quantity of fish in the state for gaining a clear picture about the potential of the market. The Act East Policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened a window of opportunity for the state fish producers to gain access to South East Asian market and they must be prepared to compete with the best in the world, he stated.
Saying that commercial fishermen go through a lot of hardships to catch fish which one cannot realise without witnessing their painstaking processes, Sonowal announced that best fishermen and fish producers would be felicitated at a state level programme to acknowledge their contribution to the state’s fishery sector. Hoping that the newly appointed Junior Engineers would be able to make positive change in the department by infusing fresh thoughts and knowledge, the chief minister urged them to dedicate themselves to the cause of making the state a top fish exporter in near future.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Fishery Department Parimal Suklabaidya informed that NABARD has approved a package of Rs 100 crore for 1000 hectares of fisheries of individual owners and even if the fish export into the state is totally stopped, the state has the capacity to meet the requirement with its own production. He also said that concerted effort of all the officials of the Fishery Department has resulted in the 3.27 lakh metric tonne production of fish in the state in 2017-18 which is an increase of 20,000 metric tonnes from the previous year and urged the new appointees to strengthen the department in its endeavour to make Assam a top fish producing state.