Nearly 200,000 fish fingerlings were released into the Hooghly River at Ramakrishnapur Ghat in Howrah on Friday under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, in an initiative officials said was aimed at supporting fishers and maintaining the river’s ecological balance.
The fish-stocking programme was attended by West Bengal Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Umesh Rai, Howrah District Magistrate P Deepriya, district administration officials and representatives of the West Bengal State Fishermen’s Cooperative Federation Limited, according to a report by Anandabazar – West Bengal.
The fingerlings released into the river included both small and large fish, with the total number estimated at nearly two lakh. The programme was described as part of a wider effort to promote the fisheries sector and protect the interests of fishing communities in the state.
The initiative comes after the Union government provided West Bengal with funds of nearly Rs 9 crore for the overall development of the fisheries sector and for measures related to the security and welfare of fishers, the report said. Authorities have also prepared outlines for new projects in the state’s coastal areas, the Sundarbans, cold-water fishing regions in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, and drought-prone Bankura and Purulia.
Speaking at the programme, Rai said the government had taken steps to protect fishers’ interests and preserve the ecological balance of the Hooghly River. He said the release of fish fingerlings was intended to support that objective. The minister also said the government had promised to include fishers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.
Rai further claimed that several central welfare schemes for farmers and fishers had not previously been known to people in the state and were now being introduced one by one following the formation of a new government in West Bengal. He said 98 central schemes were currently operational in the state. These political and administrative claims were reported as statements made by the minister and were not independently detailed in the supplied report.
The fish release places the Hooghly’s working river environment at the centre of a government programme that combines livelihood support with an ecological objective. The river supports fishing activity alongside dense urban settlements, ferry and port operations, industrial areas and other forms of riverfront use. The report, however, does not provide details about the fish species released, their survival rate, the stocking locations beyond Ramakrishnapur Ghat, or any monitoring mechanism.
The report also does not specify the total financial allocation for the stocking programme, the agency responsible for tracking its ecological outcomes, or the timeline for the wider fisheries projects announced for different regions of West Bengal. Further implementation details are expected to determine how the initiative will be assessed beyond the release event.
