The Lt. Governor, A&N Islands, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the Fish Landing Centre (FLC) at Neil Island on Wednesday. The Secretary (Fisheries), Mr Ramesh Verma, Chairperson, PBMC, Mr B. Eswar Rao, Zilla Parishad Member (Neil Island), Mr Dasrath Verma, Pradhan, Neil Island, Mr Shri Ram Krishna Biswas, and the ADM, District Administration, Mr Mahesh Kumar Gupta were also present on this occasion besides a large number of fisherfolks and local people. The Lt. Governor unveiled the plaque and inaugurated the Fish Landing Center, which has been built by the ALHW for an amount of Rs 320 Lakh. Addressing the gathering, the Lt. Governor said the A&N Administration has a proposal for constructing 19 Fish Landing Centres in different locations of A&N Islands of which seven have already been completed including the Fish Landing centre at Neil Island. Ten Fish Landing centers are at various stages of constructions of which some are nearing completion and one Fish Landing centre at Kamorta, which was under site dispute, has been cleared by Tribal Council of Kamorta. One Fish Landing Center at Little Andaman will be taken up once the Forest clearance is received. The Lt Governor said that fisheries is an important sector for generating employment opportunities in the Islands. The fishing potential of Andaman waters is huge which needs to be exploited, he said, emphasizing on the need for focusing on deep sea fishing. The A&N Administration is planning to impart skill development training to the fishers of A&N Islands by introducing foreign fishing vessels, wherein 80% of the crew members shall be the local fishermen of the Islands, said the Lt Governor. Talking about the various steps taken by A&N Administration for the development of Neil Island, the Lt. Governor informed the gathering that construction work of new Jetty has already started to facilitate berthing of bigger vessels. Replying on the issues raised by the Pradhan, the Lt. Governor said the demands of the fishermen of Neil Island will be fulfilled. Expressing his views on Neil Organic Mission, the Lt. Governor urged the farmers to completely avoid use of inorganic fertilizers and promote organic farming under the guidance of Agriculture Department, which will fetch more remuneration for their produce. He also suggested to use Neil Organic’ logo on the agricultural products and make Neil Island as the first in the Islands to become fully organic. The Lt Governor also distributed Fresh Water Fish Seed to 20 fish farmers of Neil Island which included Smti Aroti Das, Smti Fulkuamri Mandal, Smti Gita Rani Roy, Mr Profullo Mallick and Shri Tapan Bisawas among others. In his welcome address, the Secretary (Fisheries), Mr Ramesh Verma stressed that fisherman community shall use the facility of Fish Landing centre for their socio-economic development by contributing towards growth of fisheries sector in the Islands. The Pradhan, Mr Ram Krishna Biswas put forth various demands viz an ice plant for the fishermen of Neil Island, supply of essential fishing materials on subsidy by the Department of Fisheries, providing house sites to fishermen, stationing of a rescue boat at Neil Island which can provide immediate assistance to fishermen in case of any distress. He also urged for development of road from Neil Jetty to Sitapur and speeding up the work of Petrol Bunk at Neil Island. The Director of Fisheries, Mr SC Dey proposed the vote of thanks.