GUWAHATI:
Assam has bagged four top honours in the fisheries sector, including the “best state” title among the hilly states and NE region, from the ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying for its performance in the last three years.
Odisha has been named the best state in “marine state” category and Uttar Pradesh in the “inland state” category. Also, Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd (FISHFED) has bagged Best Quasi Government Organization award, Nagaon district the best district award and Amal Medhi of Nalbari district has bagged the best fish farmer award in hilly states and northeastern states of India category.
State fisheries department commissioner and secretary Rakesh Kumar will be receiving the award on behalf of the state government on November 21 at a function at AP Shinde Symposium Hall, NASC Complex, Pusa in New Delhi. Union minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, Giriraj Singh, minister of state
Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Union secretary (fisheries) Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and other dignitaries from central government will attend the event. The award carries Rs 10 lakh prize money, a certificate, a shawl and a memento.
“The selection was through very competitive matrix ranking procedures encompassing 25 different criterion and Assam scored the highest points in terms of performance. The performance was evaluated for three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20,” Kumar told TOI.
During the three years, the state has recorded high degree of utilization of funds received from the Centre under different schemes, World Bank and state government besides submission of utilization certificates. The state has also scored high points in meeting targets in fish production and fish seed production. In the last three years, the state’s fish production has increased from 3.27 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 to 3.37 lakh tonnes in 2019-20. Similarly, sales of fish within and outside the state have also increased during the three-year period.
State fishery and forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya’s PRO Sailendra Pandey said, “Assam’s Nagaon district has bagged the best district award under the category of hilly states and northeastern states of India. Amal Medhi of Nalbari district has won the best fish farmer award under the category of hilly states and northeastern states.”
Pandey added, “Also, Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd (FISHFED) has been named the Best Quasi Government Organization under the category of hilly states and northeastern states of India.”
Nagaon district fisheries development officer Ramendra Ch Barman will receive the award on behalf of the Nagaon district administration at the same function, which carries a cash award of Rs 3 lakh. The award for best fish farmer award carries a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. The Best Quasi Government Organization carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is curren...
Read MorePrabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.
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