Shri. Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (FAHD) led the parikrama, started today from Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour (Nellore district), and will be proceeding towards other coastal districts like Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Yanam district (Union Territory of Puducherry) in coming days.

The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, and National Fisheries Development Board along with the Department of Fisheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Government of Puducherry (Union Territory), Indian Coast Guard and fishermen representatives actively participated in Sagar Parikrama Phase X. Sagar Parikrama Yatra commenced with a warm welcome of Shri. Parshottam Rupala, along with Shri Beeda Masthan Rao, Member of Rajyasabha, Shri Ramireddy Prathap Kumar Reddy, Member of Legislative Assembly, Shri K.Kanna Babu, Commissioner of Fisheries, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Shri R.Kurmanath, Joint Collector, SPRS Nellore, Shri Konduru Anil Babu Fishermen coop. Society Federation Ltd, Shri Mani Kumar Commandant, Indian Coast Guard and other dignitaries at Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour (Nellore district).

Shri Parshottam Rupala interacted with beneficiaries such as fisherwomen, fishermen, aqua farmers, PMMSY beneficiaries etc. at Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour. Union Minister felicitated beneficiaries with assets such as (boats, two-wheeler with ice box) under PMMSY scheme, appointment letters where distributed to newly appointed Sagar Mitra’s under PMMSY, beneficiaries were also felicitated with KCC for fishers.  Further, beneficiaries shared their ground level experiences, highlighted their challenges, and expressed gratitude for the enormous impact that the KCC and PMMSY schemes have made to the lives of fishermen and the fishing community. The interaction consisted of open conversations where the fishermen shared their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. He also highlighted that Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour at Nellore will be commissioned soon which has been approved under blue revolution scheme at total cost of Rs 288.80 Cr.

Smt. Neetu Kumari Prasad Joint Secretary, DoF, introduced about Sagar Parikrama, where she informed that the goal of Sagar Parikrama is to interact with fishermen at their doorsteps, hear their difficulties & grievances, witness village level ground realities, encourage sustainable fishing, and ensure that government best practices and initiatives reaches to the beneficiaries.

Later in the day, program shall remain continued at Kothapatnam, Prakasam district where, Union Minister (FAHD) with other dignitaries would interact with beneficiaries, distribute numerous benefits, and will address the gathering. Sagar Parikrama will make an impact in improving the quality of life of the people in rural areas and shall create more livelihood opportunities. As a result, the impact of this Sagar Parikrama on livelihood will be far-reaching in the next phases. Around 3,000 fishermen, various fisheries stakeholders, and researchers physically attended the Sagar Parikrama Phase X programme from various locations.

Sagar Parikrama exemplifies the transforming potential of creative leadership for the benefit of the fishing community and coastal development. It is a government initiative aimed at resolving the issues of fishermen and other stakeholders at their doorstep and facilitating their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programmes implemented by the government of India, such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Kisan Credit Card (KCC).

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