Tripura capable of meeting fish demand without Bangladesh imports: Minister
Tripura will not depend on fish imports from Bangladesh, relying instead on local production and imports from Indian states. The Fisheries Minister also emphasised efficient budget use and progress in animal resource development.
- May 23, 2025,
- Updated May 23, 2025, 8:33 PM IST
Tripura will not face any hurdles in importing fish from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, Fisheries Minister Sudhangshu Das said on May 23. He added that the state's own fish cultivation is more than sufficient to meet demand as the state does not import fish from Bangladesh.
“A notice was issued by the Central government imposing restrictions on the import of certain products. I want to say that even if we don’t receive fish from Bangladesh, we will not face any issue. At present, the way we are producing fish in our state, we can cover 100% of our needs. Additionally, we are importing fish from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, which is more than enough for us. So, it is not necessary to import from Bangladesh,” he said.
The minister made this statement after chairing a review meeting of the Animal Resource Development Department for the 2025-26 financial year, along with the Director of the Department, Neeraj Kumar Chanchal.
“We have held a state-level review meeting of the Animal Resource Development Department for the 2025-26 financial year, in which all higher officials were present along with district-level officials. The main aim of this meeting was to discuss how we can implement the budget allocated for the 2025-26 financial year as efficiently as possible and work for the benefit of the people," he said.
Furthermore, he added, "Apart from this, we also reviewed the last financial year’s budget and work, and assessed how much progress we made and the successes achieved. We are also working on how to overcome loopholes and further our efforts towards self-sufficiency in milk, eggs, meat, etc., and at the same time ensure proper healthcare for animals under the ARD."
He informed that the decisions taken in the last meeting have been implemented, and district-level meetings have already started.
The minister informed that the department has utilized around 99 per cent of the funds from the state budget in the last financial year, and there are no pending funds.