PARADIP: The building of the Fisheries department’s office at Nehru Bangla in Paradip lies in a dilapidated condition. The only prawn hatchery of Paradip, situated in the building, which was damaged in the super cyclone of 1999, has not yet been renovated leading to resentment among shrimp farmers. The hatchery had the capacity to produce about 6 to 8 million prawn seeds annually. Apart from Jagatsinghpur, prawn seeds were supplied from the facility to the fish farmers from neighbouring districts. The district has hundreds of shrimp farming units but the hatchery has failed to provide seeds to them after it was completely damaged in the super cyclone of 1999.
Apart from the hatchery, the building, spread over 32 acres of land, comprises the Fishery department’s office, staff quarters, an ice factory, a brackish water training centre and a wireless tower.The building also has an ice factory which has been facing issues as a result of which storage of fish has taken a hit. The wireless tower on the campus is also not functioning.
Similar is the condition of the Brackish Water Training Institute. The institute was established in 1993 to impart training to brackish water farmers. The objective of setting up of the institute was to upgrade the skills and knowledge of rural youths of coastal areas on fishing.Assistant Director, Fisheries, Manas Ranjan Sahoo said that the department has sought the intervention of higher officials on several occasions for renovation of these buildings but nothing has been done in this regard.