Bhubaneswar: The Cuttack Fisheries Office released 12 lakh fish fingerlings in the Mahandi river system at a function organised at Jagatpur in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Wednesday to help the 7,000 members of the fishing community depending on the river.
According to the Cuttack District Fishery Officer (DFO) Itishree Rath, the event will go a long way in helping the fishermen depending on the Mahanadi river. “This programme is not to help fishermen in a particular area, but for all those whose livelihood depends on fishing in the Mahanadi. In recent times, there has been a decline in the fish population in the river and releasing 12 lakh fingerlings will help to increase the fish population, thereby boosting the income of the fishermen.”
In reply to a question on what action would be taken against the fishermen from Bangladesh who sneaks in to catch fish in Mahanadi, Rath said, “If anyone provides us with proof like photographs or video clips of such illegal fishing activities, we will surely initiate legal proceedings against them.”
Odisha Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain graced the function as the chief guest. Talking to the media, he said, “This is a unique programme to help the fishing community here as well as in other areas of the state. We first launched this programme in Sonepur and the success of that programme has encouraged us to take up the same initiative in the Mahanadi river system. Gradually, we will cover all the rivers in the state with a view to increasing the population of fish in these water bodies.”
