By Sandeep Pradhan

Purba Medinipur (West Bengal) [India], March 28 (ANI): While fish has taken centre stage in the high-octane election of West Bengal after political parties in the state made narratives and claims regarding its consumption, farmers of the Moyna area in Purba Medinipur district engaged in pisciculture are still wondering whether this poll is going to fulfil their long-pending demands, including availability of fresh water from river, high-tech laboratory, subsidy in electricity bill and others.

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Elections come and go, but the problems of fish farmers in Moyna remain unsolved for several decades.

Pintu Das, Secretary of Moyna Fish Farmers' Welfare Association, said the entire economy of Moyna thrives on fish production, yet has received no government assistance for this work to date.

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"Moyna remains the second-largest fish-producing region in India. In fact, 70% of West Bengal's fish supply originates from here. Fish farming is carried out across 15,000 hectares, and every day, 500 trucks transport fish to West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Jharkhand, and Bihar. The entire economy of Moyna thrives on fish production, yet we have received no government assistance for this work to date," said Pintu Das.

"We are facing significant hurdles that hinder our growth," he added.

Das further elaborated that they need fresh water from the river for fish farming, but currently, the farmers are operating entirely on their own resources and are unable to secure bank loans for the businesses.

"We need fresh water from the river for fish farming, which we are currently not receiving; we face harassment during transportation of fish and are often forced to pay bribes to the police; currently, 4,000 to 5,000 fish farmers are operating entirely on their own resources in Myona and are unable to secure bank loans for the businesses," he said.

Demanding a subsidy on the electricity bill, Das said that fish farming requires a steady power supply and states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha provide electricity subsidies to farmers.

The Association's Secretary further highlighted that the region urgently needs a 'Feed Lab' to ensure the quality of medicines and feed used in aquaculture.

"We are hoping that whichever government comes to power in West Bengal will finally think about Moyna and our fellow fish farmers. If these facilities--fresh water, subsidised power, loans, and labs--are provided, Moyna's fish production will increase significantly. With the right support, we are confident we can make this region the number one fish producer in the entire country," stated Das.

A fish farmer, Sukhdev Baichar, stated that regardless of which government has come to power so far, none have given a thought to fish farmers.

" Regardless of which government has come to power so far, none have given a thought to us fish farmers, and we are managing our aquaculture entirely through our own arrangements," he said.

He further said that farmers here receive no bank loans, no political support, and not even fresh water from the river.

"Farmers here receive no bank loans, no political support, and we don't even get fresh water from the river. We are struggling with many such issues. Our demand is for fresh river water and a better environment for farming. Currently, even the technicians fail us; instead of providing effective medicine for the fish, they supply low-quality, substandard products," Baichar said.

Recently, addressing a rally in Birbhum, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that they (referring to the BJP) won't let you eat fish. You can't have meat, you can't have eggs, and you can't speak in Bengali. If you do so, you will be branded as a Bangladeshi.

To counter the alleged narrative, BJP candidate from Bidhannagar, Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, was undertaking his poll campaign holding a katla fish. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)