PATNA: Residents of Bihar can now get to savour fresh fish without stepping out of their homes amid the lockdown. The fishery directorate of the Bihar government has developed and launched an app through which orders can be placed for the fish of one's choice which will be delivered at doorsteps across the state.
Elated at the start of this online service at a time when millions of people are restricted to their homes during the lockdown, Anjani Kumar Singh of Patna said, "Yesterday, I booked 3 kg of rohu fish online as our grandchildren and other family members have been eager to eat it since the lockdown began. To our surprise, within 30 minutes of booking, fresh fish was delivered to our home."
Echoing similar sentiments, another fish lover Indu Devi of Hajipur said her son booked 2 kg of fish through the app on his smartphone and the delivery was made within one-and-a-half hours.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr Prem Kumar, minister of agriculture, animal and fishery resources, said Bihar stands in the fourth position in terms of fish production and nearly 2 crore people are directly linked to the fish trade.
"Starting this system of e-booking of fish with doorstep delivery amid the lockdown is proving to be a great help to people. All districts of the state are being covered under this online service," Dr Kumar said.
On being asked about the production of fish, the minister said, "The state has witnessed a record rise in fish production under the agricultural road map and this year from January to May, 6.42 lakh metric tonnes of fish have been produced, which is around 6.4% more than the total production in the same period last year."
Quoting figures, he said the state imports only 20,000 tonnes of fish from other states and with the help of the state's own production, 33,000 tonnes of fish are exported to Nepal, Siliguri, Ludhiana, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Jharkhand.
"To promote fisheries, 922 vehicles have been provided to people involved in the business," he said.
According to official figures of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Bihar is blessed with huge aquatic resources including 93000 hectares of ponds, 9000 hectares of oxbow lakes, 26000 hectares of water reservoirs and a large area of wetland in addition to 3200 km long rivers for the massive growth of fisheries.
"Blessed with such abundance of aquatic resources, we are now leaving no stone unturned to become self-reliant under the NDA government," the minister added.