Chandigarh: Punjab Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian has directed the Fisheries department officials to work closely with the Punjab Mandi Board to ensure the allocation of all 20 retail shops recently built at the New Fish Mandi in Ghalori, Patiala, by September 30.
Presiding over a meeting with officials from the Fisheries department and the Punjab Mandi Board at his office on Thursday, S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian highlighted that the Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, has completed the construction of a state-of-the-art fish market at Ghalori spanning five acres, with a total investment of Rs. 4.13 crores. This market offers comprehensive facilities for fish farmers and businesses, consolidating all essential services under one roof.
Asking the officials to speed up the allocation process for the retail shops in the Patiala fish market to maximise facility utilisation, he also mandated the swift completion of the shop allocation process at the fish markets in Bathinda and Amritsar.
The Cabinet Minister also assessed the progress of other ongoing projects including the government fish seed farm established in Killianwali village with an investment of Rs. 10.10 crore. He instructed the department officials to enhance fish seed production from government fish seed farms and make efforts to improve extension services.
Additional Chief Secretary Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, and Fisheries Mr. Alok Shekhar apprised the Minister that fish farming and shrimp farming have been carried out in 43,972 acres and 1315 acres of land, respectively, during FY 2023-24, resulting in the production of 1,81,188 tonnes of fish and 2,793 tonnes of shrimp. He also mentioned that 13.90 crore fish seeds were provided from Government Fish Seed Farms, and free training was offered to over 10,000 individuals to educate them about fish farming occupation.
Secretary Punjab Mandi Board Ms. Neelima, Joint Secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Mr. Bikramjit Singh Shergill, Director Fisheries Jasvir Singh, Assistant Director Fisheries Satinder Kaur and other officials of the Fisheries department were present in the meeting.