Dergaon, Dec 20: The newly formed Fishery Coordination Committee (FCC), Dergaon, organised an awareness meeting on Wednesday in connection with poisoning of the rivers Gelabeel and Kakodonga here.

The meeting was chaired by assistant commissioner cum chairperson of FCC Anwesha Thakur, and moderated by the district fishery development officer (DFDO), Golaghat, cum FCC convenor Simanta Konwar. Explaining the objective of the meeting, Thakur said that poisoning of the rivers has severely damaged the ecosystem of these natural water bodies. The FCC chairperson said that the Dergaon co-district administration will not spare anyone found to be in- volved in this illegal activity.

DFDO Konwar discussed all the relevant issues in detail and urged upon the villagers, fishermen, and fish farmers to adhere to the Assam Fishery Rules. Several villagers, fishermen, and others attended the awareness meeting.

It may be recalled that a public protest was staged recently over the poisoning of the rivers. Subsequently, Dergaon co-district commissioner Damodar Barman formed the FCC under the leadership of Anwesha Thakur and Simanta Konwar. The other committee members are Pratul Deka, Arunima Deka, Deepjyoti Bora, Dr Sanjoy Kumar Hazarika, Dulal Das, Bimal Sarkar, Narayan Das (les- see), Bhola Tanti, and Samiran Das (gaon pradhan).

The meeting also conducted free registration of fishermen, fish farmers, fish traders, and fish entrepreneurs under the National Fishery Development Programme (NFDP).

By-

Correspondent