"In Balasore, there is drinking water shortage. I will do my best to see that the people of my constituency get it," Sarangi, known for riding bicycle and leading a simple life, told IANS.
On giving impetus to the tourism sector, Sarangi said: "Very few know about the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary. It is known for elephants and if this place is developed, it will promote tourism and provide employment to many youth."
On the BJP's performance in the State, the social worker attributed it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Even the Odia youth have understood what does a strong leadership means for a country, surrounded by neighbours like China and Pakistan," he said.
"The Modi wave had swayed Odisha and the charisma of the Prime Minister has made a big impact on the people. Next time, we will form the government in the state as well," Sarangi said with confidence.
Sarangi was adjudged the 'Best Politician' at OTV's Odisha Citizen Awards-2017.
In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections in the state, the BJD won 12 seats, the BJP 8 and the Congress one.
[With IANS Inputs]
He said the Act, which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslim minorities when entered India before December 31, 2014 from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, should have been passed 70 years ago.
"CAA should have happened 70 years ago. CAA is a way to atone for sin committed by our forefathers, a select few leaders... It is atonement for the sin of Partition. And we should congratulate PM Narendra Modi for this. The Congress committed the sin, and we are atoning," Sarangi said.
He also said Partition, which took place on a communal basis, was "not unavoidable", and questioned then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for entering into an agreement with people who propounded the two-nation theory.
"The Partition did not take place on any political, economic, geographical, or historical basis. It was done on a communal basis. We never said we cannot live with Muslims.
We lived with them for thousands of years," Sarangi said.
"But who compelled us to enter into an agreement with the people who propounded the two-nation theory? Partition was not unavoidable. Who compelled Nehru? The country is nobody's paternal property. Nobody had the right to divide it," he added.
Sarangi said the religious division of the country caused crores of Hindus to stay back in Pakistan, and later in Bangladesh when Pakistan itself was broken up (in 1971), but the numbers of Hindus reduced due to "massive religious conversion, rapes, murders, atrocities, and forcible expulsions".
"Mahatma Gandhi had said it is the government's moral responsibility to provide citizenship and jobs to those who fled to India because of religious persecution. Our government passed CAA to give rights to minorities from those countries," he claimed.
Sarangli accused the Congress of spreading disinformation about the CAA and causing unrest in the country.
"Those who set the country on fire are not patriots.
Those who do not accept India's freedom, unity, Vande Mataram, have no right to stay in the country. They should go wherever they can," he added.
Speaking on the economic downturn, Sarangi said the country was going through the "darkest time before dawn".
"Dawn is not far away. New developments are being initiated across the country. From MSME, animal husbandry to agriculture, new life has been infused in all departments.
Even on the world level, there is infinite possibility of growth in trade and commerce, and this is going to happen. Our products are being marketed across the world," he claimed.
Sarangi said the global slowdown has impacted India but "despite that, our basic structure has not been destroyed and we will move ahead and achieve this on our own might."
(PTI)
Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying P C Sarangi also told Lok Sabha that the government is seriously contemplating setting up a platform for fish exports that would eliminate middlemen.
Total fish production in the country stood at 134.22 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, as per government data.
In accordance with the recommendation of the National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017, the government is "considering a uniform fishing law for sustainable development and management of fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone of India", according to a written reply.
The reply was given by Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh.
Territorial waters, that are up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, come under the jurisdiction of respective coastal states and Union Territories.
Waters from 12 to 200 nautical miles fall under EEZ.
At least three members from Kerala raised issues related to fishermen during the Question Hour.
Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to call a meeting of members from coastal areas to discuss issues.
Sarangi also said the government is seriously contemplating a platform for exporting fish without middlemen and that revolutionary steps are being taken to increase the income of fish farmers.
During the Question Hour, Sarangi informed the House that advisories are continuously issued to fish farmers and exporters, among others, that they should not use hazardous chemicals for preserving fish.
His reply came to a query by BJP member Maneka Gandhi on steps being taken by the government against the use of formalin to preserve fish. She also flagged excessive use of antibiotics for growing shrimps.
The ministry is also planning to upgrade the physical infrastructure for pisciculture in the country and is implementing various schemes/programmes for the development of fisheries, including the creation of infrastructure, as per the written reply.
(PTI)
The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, was the chief guest at the occasion. Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Minister for Dairy Development, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Government of Uttar Pradesh also graced the occasion and received the award on behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh, awarded as best performing State in inland fisheries sector. The fishers, fish farmers, entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials and Scientist from across the nation also participated in the grand event.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister of State, Sarangi said, "World Fisheries Day is our way of thinking globally and acting locally as we reach out to our fisher communities through local events. He said that through this event we send a message to our fishers, to our nation and to the world that fisheries is an important sector that contributes immensely to the socio-economic growth of the country."
Sarangi said that the marine capture fisheries in the country has become stagnant and there is a paradigm shift from capture to culture based fisheries.
Today, on the occasion of World Fisheries Day, Odisha (@farddept) has been awarded as the best marine state and Kalahandi as the best inland district in the country by the @FisheriesGoI . pic.twitter.com/9FLBxAI3kR
— Pratap Sarangi (@pcsarangi) November 21, 2020
Aquaculture activities have to be taken up in India as the alternative way of meeting the growing demand of nutritional security.He also said that Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada at a total estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores intends to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers' welfare.
Sarangi said that the Fisheries sector is extremely diverse and quite dynamic. There is a need to streamline policies and programs to take R&D benefits to the farmers and fishers for orderly and sustainable utilisation of all potential resources with focus on increasing efficiency and reducing environmental footprint. He said, "We need to diligently explore the resources available in the country such as waterlogged area, wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, canals, ponds, tanks, floodplains, backwaters, lagoons, low saline inland areas for increasing the fish production."
During the event, for the first time in the Fisheries Sector, the Government of India awarded best performing States for 2019-20 namely, Odisha (amongst Marine states), Uttar Pradesh (amongst Inland states) and Assam (amongst Hilly and NE states).
The Govt. also awarded best Organisations for 2019-20 (Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd. (for Marine); Telangana State Fishermen Cooperative Societies Federation Ltd (for Inland), and Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd. (for Hilly region); Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh as best Marine District; Kalahandi, Odisha as best Inland District; Nagaon, Assam as Best Hilly and NE District.
(With IANS Inputs)