GUWAHATI, April 27 - Around 2,43,000 people connected with the fishery sector of Assam have been affected during the ongoing lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, with the sector suffering a loss of around Rs 160 crore so far.
Official sources at the fishery department informed that due to the present medical emergency, 1,361 wholesalers, 16,748 retailers, 12,923 vendors, 1,15,677 fishers and fish workers, 408 fish seed hatchery owners and 4,799 fish seed growers got affected across the State.
Thanks to the lockdown, not only the entire fish marketing channel got dislocated but the inter-district and inter-state import-export activities of fish marketing also got disrupted.
The fishery department has formulated a plan for supply of fresh fish to the common masses during the lockdown period by involving the Directorate of Fisheries, Fishfed, district fisheries and local district administrations in compliance with COVID-19 protocol. Official sources said the plan has been showing good result and has come as a great relief for everyone.
Under the plan, till date, more than 170 tonnes of fish were sold through doorstep delivery in the State with a total value of over Rs 8 crore which was received by about 7,000 local fish farmers with a very small margin of share by some 50 wholesalers.
�It is a matter of great appreciation that due to such a bold and timely imitative of the fishery department, more than 1,85,000 families were able to receive fresh fish during the lockdown period. At the same time, about 1,000 hawkers also benefitted,� an official said.
The department also took the initiative to stop the flow of fish from red zone corona hotspot areas to other areas inside the State. It may be noted that due to the lockdown, there has been a complete halt to import of fish from outside the State.