Manipur: People throng Fish Fair for Local Sareng

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s pilot project of locally rearing Sareng fish seems to have yielded fruitful results and that too ahead of the Ningol Chak-kouba festival. Locally bred Sareng fish was made available in abundance at the annual Fish Fair underway at Hapta Kangjeibung.

Large number of people turned up at the fish fair venue to buy fishes of their choice from among the over 10 varieties of fishes showcased at the fair.

Fisheries Minister Heikham Dingo said that the project of locally bred Sareng fish has achieved success in the intitial stage. Minister Dingo also extended his Ningol Chak-kouba greetings to the people.

The fishes are being made available at an affordable cost in the Fish Fair to ensure that everyone can celebrate Ningol Chakkouba festival.

The annual fish fair cum fish crop competition is being organised since 1979. A total fish production of one lakh kg is being targetted for this year.

Under the initiatives of chief minister N Biren Singh, many local farmers have successfully reared sareng in the valley areas since last year.

The Manipur government in fact had procured thousands of Sareng fingerlings from various parts of the country and even neighbouring Myanmar and distributed to the local fish farmers.

On Chak-kouba, which falls in November, Manipuri women especially the married ones, enjoy fish delcacies, with Sareng which is considered to be a centrepiece, at their parents’ home. However, the fish is imported in bulk from other states as the population of local Sareng is believed to have shrunk.