"Fishermen's Day' Observed in Patna

Patna: July 10, 2008

At a function organized by the Animal and Fishery Department at the Sri Krishna Memorial Hall in Patna on Thursday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the government had prepared a Rs. 6,000 crore roadmap for agricultural development in Bihar works were already underway to turn the plan into a reality.

Dubbed as 'Machhuara Diwas', the event was planned to give a boost to the lagging agricultural and fishery sectors by introducing schemes meant to encourage investment and knowledge in fishery, dairy, herbal gardening, and other farming areas.

Referring to the so-called 'Harit Kranti' (Green Revolution) of the Seventies, the Chief Minister said today the people of Bihar needed more than just the Harit Kranti that failed to gain momentum in the state under previous governments.

"Today we need a 'Rainbow Revolution' – a much extensive, an all-round plan that covers areas in agriculture that have never been touched before. This includes governmental support and private investment in raising farm productivity, spread of scientific agricultural knowledge, and use of modern tools that would also be used to combat flood in the state," Kumar said.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, in his speech, said that the state government will hold talks with the Central government to provide compensation to the farmers who suffer huge financial losses in flood and other natural calamities in Bihar.

Ram Narayan Mandal, Animal and Fish Minister said that the state government had introduced several schemes to improve the conditions of the fisherman in Bihar including sending 800 of them to Andhra Pradesh for higher training in the trade.

Agriculture Minister Nagmani, Cooperative Minister Giriraj Singh, state Mines and Geology Minister Ramchandra Sahni, and officials from COMFED and Patna Dairy also took part in the event.