Raipur Fish Hatchery on the decline

RAIPUR, LAXMIPUR, June 25: Raipur Fish Hatchery & Training Centre in the district is going down day by day due to shortage of manpower and halting of development activities.
It is the largest hatchery in Asia.
According to field sources, the hatchery area has turned into a ghostly environment.
In first seven months of 2020, the government got revenue of about Tk 61.27 lakh from it from the sale of fry. Amid corona it was a record revenue collection. The farm has received encouragement from the government for this achievement.
Hatchery sources said, till July this year, 2,000 kg fry, 22 lakh fingerling, and 1,000 kg mixed fishes were produced
The hatchery was raised on 54 acres of land. In 1979, it was initiated with Tk 4.30 and completed in 1982.
But in the last 37 years, it did not get any touch of development. Due to negligence, the hatchery has now turned into a nose-diving farm.
There are 27 officers and employees out of granted 82 in the hatchery.
Amid various problems, its production is hampered seriously. The hatchery started working with 75 ponds. But the pond number has declined to 66 because of operating as well as management problems.  
The hatchery has to preserve 12 tonnes of broad fish for producing 22 lakh fry in a year.
Under Chandpur irrigation and embankment project, the hatchery covering 2,428 ha of marshes, 2,000 ha of river, Borpit Khal (Canal) and main canals has gained wide popularity.
Deputy Director (DD-Admn) Ramzan Ali  of the Fisheries Department-Raipur has submitted a field investigation report on the hatchery to the authority. In the report, he recommended widening bottoms of 26 filled ponds through re-excavation, and making retaining wall for 20 ponds.
Major recommendations included road construction for vehicle movement, eight-foot boundary wall fencing with barbed wire, and repairing the buildings on urgent basis, equipping auditorium with air condition system, repairing roof, door, window, modernising dormitories, increasing numbers of circular tanks and fry-hatching bottles.
Other recommendations are increasing fry production during the full season according to demand of fish growers, producing fry of  climbing fish, singing cat fish, butter fish, repairing treatment plant, supplying good quality pick-up, supplying modern aerator, creating a post of DD, rapid implementation of recruitments, and repairing electricity lines.
To revamp the hatchery 13 problems were identified three years back by a high profile investigation committee with necessary recommendation. In this connection, a file of Tk 36 crore project is lying with the ministry.
Good quality fry is supplied to 35 districts from the hatchery. Fish cultivators collect these fry in a competitive manner every year.  But the hatchery cannot meet about 30 per cent of the demand.
A recent visit found broken banks of ponds and disrupted water supply system; many electricity connections were seen disorder;  administrative, residential, rest house and godown buildings  have turned unusable.
At present 9 ponds are being repaired, and later on 11 ponds will be repaired.
Senior Scientific Officer of the hatchery Md Wahidur Rahman Mazumdar said, the proposed Tk 36 crore project was not placed at the ECNEC meeting amid corona.
If the recommendation of the investigation committee is implemented, there will be a revolution of fry production. The revenue income will be manifold if necessary manpower is recruited.
On September 6 in 1982, the then Agriculture Minister AZM Obaidullah Khan inaugurated the hatchery.