Rayagada: Several vacant posts at the fisheries department of the district have irked the fishing community here as several official works go at a snail’s pace due to the crunch.
Rayagada is an industrial district of the southern Odisha. Despite agriculture being the chief occupation here, many government projects have been lying defunct here thanks to the vacant posts.
The fisheries department in the district has remained completely neglected in a sense that senior positions in the department are lying vacant for more than one year. It may be worth mentioning here that the office of the district fisheries officer is located in the district headquarters. Moreover, the additional fisheries officer post is also lying vacant for long. While there are 14 posts of assistant fisheries officer in the office, 10 posts are still lying vacant.
The state government has been making tall claims on its policies and programmes, pertaining to the well being of farmers in Odisha. Crores of rupees are being spent for the implementation of such programmes in the state. In contrast to this, the state is still dependent on the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and other states as well, for several varieties of fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products. It is a well established fact that the state largely depends on Andhra Pradesh to fulfill its fish demands. Trucks load of fish are coming into the state every day.
Interestingly, it is learnt that, more than Rs 1 crore has been spent in the district towards fish production and farming during the past three years. The amount was spent towards digging fish ponds for the farmers, culture and distribution of fish larvae, training the fish farmers and medicines pertaining to pisciculture.
In the absence of senior officers, the head clerk of the office, RC Patra refused to give any comment. After the transfer of the former district fisheries officer, Hemant Kumar Dash, the district fisheries officer of Koraput, Arun Kumar Behera, is in additional charge of the district. Many fish farmers have alleged that he rarely comes to the office.
Reacting to the allegations, Behera replied, “I am just in additional charge and since I have broken my legs in a road accident, I am unable to visit Rayagada regularly. I have no information about the volume of expenditures in the district, towards the facilitation of fish production and fish farming.”
The fish farmers of Rayagada district have been demanding for immediate fill up of the senior positions and also a vigilance inquiry into the expenditures on fish farming. They have strongly resented to the inadequate support being given to them by the district office.
PNN
