Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 2: Good news for the city’s fish lovers. The state government Friday signed an MoU with Falcon Marine Exports Limited (FMEL) to open 26 Chilika Fresh outlets in Bhubaneswar.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between FISHFED and FMEL at the Secretariat here in the presence of fisheries and animal resources development minister Pradeep Maharathy, Bhubaneswar mayor AN Jena, two local MLAs and department secretary Bishnupada Sethi.
Fisheries director Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya signed the agreement with FMEL director in this regard.
The government has selected the private firm through bidding to set up the outlets in the city on public-private partnership (PPP) mode, said Maharathy.
“The outlets will be opened very soon. With the opening of all outlets, our people will get fresh and quality fishes of different verities at reasonable prices,” the minister added.
FISHFED (State Fishermen Co-operative Federation) would earn `61.92 lakh in the form of rent in the first year, which will increase at a rate of 6 per cent per annum for a period of 15 years, he said.
Currently, there are two such outlets in the capital – Siripur Square, near OUAT and another at CRP Square.
Shrimp unit at Mahakalpada
The government also signed another MoU with FMEL for the long-term lease of Jagatjore–Banapada Shrimp Culture Project under Mahakalpada tehsil of Kendrapara district.
“The project work began in 1992 with the help of World Bank and completed in 2000. However, it ran for only one year. In 2004, on the same day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered to restart the project and we have been able to do so after 12 years,” Sethy said.
Three clusters in Jagatjore, with a gross area of 484 hectare comprising 437 culture ponds, spread over 257 hectare of water area.
The lease period will be 15 years during which the government will get `13-crore revenue from the lessee, the secretary added.It is expected that about 2500 MT of L vannamei shrimp will be produced in the first year with a value of about `100 crore, he added.