Parshottam Rupala, Dr L Murugan Set To Launch The Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII In Kanyakumari Tomorrow

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala along with Minister of State, Dr L Murugan is all set to launch Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII in Thengapattanam Fishing Harbour in Kanyakumari district on August 31, 2023.

This phase of Sagar Parikrama will cover four coastal districts of Tamil Nadu including Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram. The event will also witness the launch of a Tamil song on Sagar Parikrama.

Sagar Parikrama Yatra

• It is an outreach program intended to reach out fisher community across the coastal belt

• The initiative commenced in 2022 to understand the issues, experiences, and aspirations of fishermen

• It focuses on examining the scope of seafood exports and popularise programs available to fishermen in coastal areas

• Protection of marine ecosystems

• It demonstrates solidarity with all fish farmers and concerned stakeholders as a spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The 8^th phase of the Sagar Parikrama yatra in Tamil Nadu will begin on August 31, 2023, and will end on September 2, 2023, with the foundation laying stone of the Integrated Seaweed Park at Valamavur in Thondi, Ramanathapuram district.

Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII

During the Sagar Parikrama journey across four coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, Certificates/sanctions relating to the following schemes will be distributed to fishermen, particularly coastal fishermen fish farmers, and young fisheries entrepreneurs. The schemes include:

• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)

• Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)

• Kisan Credit Card (KCC)

• State Schemes

The awareness and benefits of schemes such as the PMMSY, State schemes, e-Shram, FIDF, and KCC, will be widely disseminated through print media, electronic media, videos, and a digital campaign using jingles among fishermen of Tamil Nadu.

Sagar Parikrama Awareness Campaign: Participants

Following Ministers, Government officials, and institutes will participate in the three-day Sagar Parikrama awareness campaign. It includes:

• Union Fisheries Ministers, Parshottam Rupala

• Minister of State, Dr L Murugan

• State Fisheries Department Tamil Nadu

• District officials and Senior officials from the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, and from the State Government

• National Fisheries Development Board

• Indian Coast Guard

• Fishery Survey of India

• National Institute of Fisheries Post Harvest Technology and Training

• Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical & Engineering Training and fishermen.

Fishermen representatives, fish farmers, entrepreneurs, fishermen cooperative society leaders, professionals, scientists, and other stakeholders in the four districts of Tamil Nadu will participate in the events.

The first seven phases of Sagar Parikrama covered 3600 km in 8 Western Coastal states/UTs including:

• Gujarat

• Diu & Daman

• Maharashtra

• Goa

• Karnataka

• Kerala

• Puducherry

• Andaman & Nicobar.

It aims to resolve the challenges faced by the fishing community and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs implemented by the government, such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Kisan Credit Card (KCC).