The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (FAHD), Government of India, and National Fisheries Development Board along with the Department of Fisheries, Government of Tamil Nadu, Indian Coast Guard, and fishermen representatives organized as well as actively participated in the Sagar Parikrama, Phase- IX which started today from Thiruvandanai, Tamil Nadu.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Shri Parshottam Rupala led the parikrama along with Dr L Murugan, Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying,  Dr. L Murugan in the presence of Joint Secretary, DoF, Smt. Neetu Kumari Prasad, Chief Executive, National Fisheries Development Board, Dr L.N Murthy and Fishermen Welfare, Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

Sagar Parikrama Phase- IX program began with a warm welcome of Union Minister Shri Parshottam Rupala by fishermen, and fisherwomen at Thondi, Ramnad District followed by interaction with beneficiaries and moved forward to Jegathappattinam Fish Landing Centre, Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu. Shri Parshottam Rupala along with Dr L Murugan interacted with traditional fishermen, fisherwomen and emphasized the use of new technology in the fishery sector and highlighted that the training of new technology can be taken with the help of the officials from Department of Fisheries. He informed about the PM Vishwakarma Program for fishermen. Further, beneficiaries were distributed with Kisan Credit Card. Shri Parshottam Rupala inaugurated fish farmer producer cooperative society limited at Manamelkudi, Pudukkottai District.

Sagar Parikrama further continued and reached to Mallipattinam Fishing Harbour, Thanjavur District, where Shri Parshottam Rupala,  along with Dr L Murugan and the public authorities interacted with fishermen, fish farmers, fishermen cooperative society leaders and discussed about the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and gain insights on their livelihood. The interaction involved open conversations where the fishermen shared their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Shri Rupala, about the primary goal of such interactions is to bridge the gap between policymakers and the people directly affected by policies. He highlighted the crucial role of fishermen, fish farmers in the fisheries sector and thanked the beneficiaries for sharing their experiences.

 Dr. L Murugan interacted with fishermen and discussed regarding group insurance, and direct benefits of the schemes such as PMMSY, FIDF, and KCC etc.

Moving forward, Shri Parshottam Rupala long with Dr. L Murugan and other senior dignitaries visited Adirampattinam Fish Landing Centre, Thanjavur District and Seruthur Fishing Village, Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu. During the event, progressive beneficiaries shared their ground level experiences, success stories with Shri Parshottam Rupala as well as appraised for the tremendous contribution that Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme has been introduced for fishermen and fishing community.

He also informed on transformational changes and significant success stories achieved through various schemes being implemented in fisheries sector in last nine years, He informed that the Department of Fisheries, Government of India has already undertaken a strategic initiative on “Matsya Sampada Jagrukta Abhiyan” to enhance outreach and awareness amongst the fishers and other stakeholders across pan India. During the Sagar Parikrama Phase-IX program, he said “Matsya Sampada Jagrukta Abhiyan” has undertaken parallelly.

 

Further, the program of Sagar Parikrama-IX took place at Nagapattinam Fishing Harbour, and  Minister interacted virtually as well as physically with the beneficiaries of PMMSY and KCC. Following are the beneficiaries (i) Ramamoorthy, (ii) Vadivel, (iii) Mathan, (iv) Ramesh, (v) Naveenkmar, (vi) Raja, (viii) Nagaraj, (viii) Kalaimani, (ix) Thangavel, (xi) Ananthi, (xii) Mariyammal (xiii) Muthuselvan, (xiv) Lakashmanan, (xv) Anantham Fisher Women Self Help Group, (xvi) Gangai Fisher Women Self Help Group, (xvii) Kadal Megam Women Self Help Group, (viii) Roja Women Self Help Group.

In all around approx.10,500 fishermen, various fisheries stakeholders, scholars attended physically the Sagar Parikrama Phase IX program from different places of which approx. 3,400 fisherwomen participated, and the program were live streamed on various social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Later in the day, program shall remain continued where Shri Parshottam Rupala with other dignitaries shall visit the places like Karaikal District, Union Territory of Puducherry and will cover the other coastal region of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The first day program of Sagar Parikrama, Phase-IX was great success. Therefore, the influence of this Sagar Parikrama would be far reaching in coming phases on livelihood and holistic development of fishermen and fisher folks.

Sagar Parikrama is contributing to disseminate information on fisheries related schemes/programs implemented by Government of India, highlighting best practices, promote responsible fisheries and demonstrate solidarity with all fisherfolks and concerned stakeholders. The goal of Sagar Parikrama is to interact fishermen at their doorsteps, hear their difficulties and grievances, witness village level ground realities, encourage sustainable fishing, and ensure that government subsidies and initiatives reach the beneficiaries. So far, the Sagar Parikrama has covered eight phases across coastal States/UTs.

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