State’s water resources can be used for furthering aquaculture, fisheries: Kumar

ITANAGAR, 6 Aug: Fisheries Principal Secretary Sandeep Kumar said that the state has huge water resources which can be exploited for furthering aquaculture and fisheries.

Speaking during a meeting held here on Friday to review the progress of centrally-sponsored and state government schemes, Kumar exhorted the officers to “come up with innovative ideas which will benefit the farmers in the true sense.”

The meeting was chaired by Fisheries Minister Tage Taki and attended by Kumar, Fisheries Commissioner Belatee Pertin, Fisheries Director Joyshil Taba and all the district fisheries development officers from the fisheries directorate.

Pertin expressed satisfaction with regard to the progress being made by the department, and reiterated that schemes and projects “should be implemented within timeline.”

“Delay in execution of schemes leads to suffering of farmers and it should be avoided at any cost,” he said, adding that “a robust database is the backbone of any successful planning and it should be updated regularly, so as to give an insight of actual development.”

The minister flagged off seven ‘mobile soil and water testing labs’, procured under the RKVY-RAFTAAR 2021-22, for various districts, and expressed confidence that “the farmers will now be benefitted more and proper management

of their farms can be achieved, thereby taking aquaculture in the state to a newer height.”

Earlier, the fisheries director presented an overview of the state’s fisheries sector.