Union Minister for Fisheries, Livestock and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, announced that river ranching of the state fish Chitala will be carried out to increase its population in natural water sources like the Ganga. This initiative aims to balance the aquatic ecosystem, increase the income of fish farmers, and provide a protein-rich diet to the public. Projects worth over ₹1000 crore are also underway in Uttar Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. The river ranching event in Varanasi released over 1 lakh Chitala fish into the Ganga as part of the Chitala Conservation and Promotion Project.
River ranching of state fish Chitala will increase its number in natural water sources including the Ganga and it will help in balancing the aquatic ecosystem, said Union minister for fisheries, livestock and dairying Parshottam Rupala on Tuesday.
“The initiative will also help increase income of fish farmers and increase the availability of protein-rich nutritious diet to the general public,” he said while speaking as chief guest at a river ranching event at Sant Ravidas ghat, Varanasi where over 1 lakh Chitala fish were released in the Ganga under ‘Chitala Conservation and Promotion Project’.
UP fishery development minister Sanjay Kumar Nishad said that under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, projects worth more than ₹1000 crore were under construction or operational in the state.
Under the Mukhyamantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, with the aim of increasing the income of farmers and providing self-employment opportunities, UP is running two projects including establishment of fish seed banks in every gram Sabha.
The Nishad Raj Boat Subsidy Scheme of the state government provides employment and livelihood to fish farmers and fishermen community through fishery management and conservation in rivers/reservoirs, said Nishad.
Director fisheries Prashant Sharma welcomed the guests and said that for the first time in Uttar Pradesh, river ranching of state fish Chitala is being done. About 1 lakh small Chitala fish were released in the Ganga in Varanasi. The river ranching will increase their number in the rivers, which will help in maintaining the ecological balance.
The income of fish farmers will increase, as well as the availability of protein-rich nutritious food to the people who eat fish will also increase. He said that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has included state fish Chitala in the category of ‘near threatened category’. For its promotion and conservation, the government is organising a programme of river ranching. Under the Chitala Promotion Project, the fisheries department has entered into an MoU with NBFGR for its breeding. With the help of the bureau, Chitala fish are being restored in the reservoirs through ‘river hatching’.
Apart from Varanasi circle, about 1000 fish farmers from Prayagraj, Mirzapur and Azamgarh participated in the programme which was coordinated by NS Rahmani, joint director fisheries, U.P. Lucknow.