Sagar Parikrama is an initiative taken by Government of India, with an aim to resolve the issues of the fishers, other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs being implemented by the Government of India such as Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Kisan Credit Card (KCC).
The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry& Dairying, Government of India, and National Fisheries Development Board along with the Department of Fisheries, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Goa, Indian Coast Guard and fishermen representatives is observing the Sagar Parikrama Phase V which started from 17th May 2023 from Gateway of India, Mumbai and will be proceeding towards coastal regions are like Gateway of India, Karanja (Raigad District), Mirkarwada (Ratnagiri Dist.), Vasco, Mormugaon, Canacona (South Goa).
Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying in the presence of Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, IAS, OSD (Fisheries), Dr. Jujjavarapu Balaji, Joint Secretary (Marine Fisheries), Dr. Atul Patne, IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of Maharashtra, Dr L.N Murthy, National Fisheries Development Board grace the occasion and launched the Sagar Parikrama Yatra Phase-V.
Phase-I Programme of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ was organized in Gujarat, started on 5th March 2022 from Mandvi and ended on 6th March 2022 at Porbandar, Gujarat. The voyage Sagar Parikrama as Phase –II programme started on 22nd September 2022 from Mangrol to Veraval and ended at Mul Dwaraka, on 23rd September 2022 from Mul Dwaraka to Madhwad. Phase-III Program of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ started on 19th Feb 2023 from Surat, Gujarat, and ended on 21st Feb 2023 at Sasson Dock, Mumbai. Phase-IV program started from Mormugao Port, Goa on 17th March 2023 and ended on 19th March 2023 in Mangalore.
Second day programme begins with warm welcome of Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and other dignitaries by fisher men and women with Aai Na Lai Dance and bunch of flowers at Veldur (District Ratnagiri). An introductory address was given by Dr. Atul Patne, IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of Maharashtra enlightened on Sagar Parikrama Phase-V highlighting the vital role played by fish farmers and fishermen in coastal communities and the overall marine ecosystem. He emphasized that sustainable fishing practices and the welfare of fishermen are important considerations to maintain the balance of marine resources and support the livelihoods of those involved in the fishing industry.
Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry&Dairying and other dignitaries interacted with beneficiaries, fish farmers, fishermen present at Veldur (District Ratnagiri). The various beneficiaries are i) Mr. Vitthal Bhalekar, ii) P.N Chougale, iii) Maqbool Hussain Jhambarkhar. Beneficiaries such as Mr Vitthal Bhalekar and other shared their ground experiences and spoke about their local problems of fishermen. Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry&Dairying was very pleased that an interactive session helped fishermen, fish farmers to share their ground realities, experiences and to come out with their issues being faced, i.e., standardization of rules and regulations related to fishing. Through interactive session, fish farmers apprised about their mode of fish farming and quantum of income. He discussed that the issues will be worked upon for improvement on fisheries sector development and talked in detail about eliminating the critical gaps in the value chain of fisheries through implementation of schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna (PMMSY) and Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for beneficiaries, fishfarmers & fishermen.
Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry&Dairying appreciated villagers from Manori awarded with cheque of Rs.54,00,000/- for tremendous contribution in fisheries sector. Fishermen come forward and gave their respective application to Hon’ble Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry& Dairying for better sustainable fishing practice and livelihood of fishermen, fish farmers etc.
Shri ParshottamRupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying continued the journey of Mirkarwada (District Ratnagiri) and welcomed by beneficiaries i.e., fishermen and fish farmers and other officials of Government of Maharashtra with garlands and bunch of flowers. He visited Mirkarwada and Mirya village, interacted with fish farmers and fishermen and discussed the challenges & opportunities in the sector shared the government initiatives to support them.About8000 fishermen, fish farmers and other dignitaries participated in the program at Mirkarwada(District Ratnagiri).
The stage programmecommencesat Swatantryawir Savarkar Natyagruha, Maruti Mandir (District Ratnagiri) in the presence of the senior official dignitaries and beneficiaries i.e fishermen, fish farmers and other stakeholders. The following dignitaries participated in the events:-i) Shri ParshottamRupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry & Dairying, ii) Shri Uday Samant, Minister of Industries, Govt of Maharashtra, iii) Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, OSD (Fisheries), Govt of India, iv) Shri. A.N Tiwari, OSD, GoI, v) Dr. Atul Patne, IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of Maharashtra, vi) Dr. J. Balaji, IAS, Joint Secretary (Marine Fisheries), vii) Shri Ramsingh, viii) Dr L.N Murthy, National Fisheries Development Board, ix) Dr. Sanjay Pandey, Deputy Commissioner, x) Shri Pankaj Kumar, MD, MFDC, xi) Dr. Niyati Joshi, Director of Fisheries,GoI, xii) Shri Devendar Singh, Collector Ratnagiri, xiii) Shri Dhananjay Kulkarni, SP, Ratnagiri, xiv) Bhakti Peje, Fisheries Development Officer, xv) Shri Mahesh Deore, Jt. Commissioner, Marine, xvi) Shri Yuvaraj Chaugule, Jt. Commissioner, Brackishwater, xvii) Shri Amar Patil, Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries, Sangli, xviii) Shri Abhay Deshpande, Regional Deputy Commissioner, Pune, xix) Shri N.V.Bhadule, Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries, xx) Senior officials of Department of Fisheries, Government of India, xxi) Senior officials from Indian Coast Guard, Fishery Survey of India, Maharashtra Maritime Board and fishermen representatives.
A welcome speech was given by Dr. Atul Patne, IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), Government of Maharashtra, at the beginning of an event to show his gratitude towards the guest for making an effort to attend the event. Shri ParshottamRupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry & Dairying interacted with following fishermen i) Amjad Borkar, ii) Imran Mukadam, iii) Mahesh Natekar, iv) Vijay Khedekar, v) Tanay Shivalkar) vi) Yogini Bhatkar for understanding the needs and challenges so as to support our fishermen and fish farmers with improved communication and awareness that positively impacted the lives of fishermen and contribute to sustainable fisheries management.
He deliberated on the promotion of KCC and enthusiastically added that camps have been conducted at Coastal districts of Maharashtra, where the fishers and fish farmers were made aware about KCC registration & its benefits. Further, he felicitated the beneficiaries like fishermen, fish farmers and other stakeholders with Kisan Credit Card and QR Code Aadhar Card/E-Shram Card. Following are the various beneficiaries list i) Beneficiaries under PMMSY (Smt. Rutuja Sawant, Smt. Poonam Shetye, Smt. Nasreen Bhatkar), ii) KCC Card (Shri. Ramesh Sahdev Patil, Shri Mansoor Hatodkar, Shri. Samina Vajud Bebaji), iii) QR Coded Aadhar Card (Shri Gajanan Hedavkar, Shri Vilas Kharvatkar, Shri Tejas Shivalkar, Shri Imran Mukadam, Shri Suhel A. Kadir Nakhwa, Shri Jamil Adil Wadkar).
Sagar Parikrama is a program reflecting the far-reaching policy strategy of the government leading to the direct interaction with fishers and fish farmers to understand the issues of coastal areas and problems related to fishermen. Phases I, II & III, IV have brought massive changes in the development strategy for fishermen. Sagar Parikrama program is being welcomed by fishermen and fish farmers with open heart and they see this as an instrument of their development. Therefore, the influence of this Sagar Parikrama on the livelihood and holistic development of fishermen and fisher folk, including climate change and sustainable development, would be far-reaching.
Later in the stage, program shall remain continue where Shri ParshottamRupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying with other dignitaries shall visits other places in coastal region of Vasco, Mormugaon, Canacona (South Goa).
