Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala is participating in the Sagar Parikrama Phase XII event being organized today and tomorrow in West Bengal.<br />''<br />''He reached Kolkata today and joined a programme at Digha in Purba Medinipur. Later he will go to Shankarpur, Petuaghat, Sultanpur and Diamond Harbour of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts. Tomorrow he will be at Gangasagar of South 24 Parganas.<br />''<br />''Mr Rupala will felicitate the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) beneficiaries and other stakeholders during the event to progressive fishermen, particularly coastal fishermen and fish farmers, young fisheries entrepreneurs etc.<br />''<br />''Best practices and initiatives taken through Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, KCC and other schemes will be shared with fishermen.<br />''<br />''Senior officials from Department of Fisheries, Government of India and Government of West Bengal, National Fisheries Development Board, Indian Coast Guard, Fishery Survey of India, fishermen association and other dignitaries will also participate in the Sagar Parikrama Phase XII event.<br />''<br />''The Sagar Parikrama Yatra includes review sessions and interactions with fishermen, fish farmers and other key stakeholders. West Bengal is endowed with six agro-climatic regions with diverse aquatic resources with more than eight lakh hectare of inland water bodies and a coastline of 158 km.<br />''<br />''There is great diversity in fishery sector from cold water to marine and everything in between (inland, brackish water, wetland). The journey of first phase of "Sagar Parikrama" started from Mandvi, Gujarat on 5th March 2022.<br />''<br />''Sagar Parikrama improves people's quality of life and economic well-being by acknowledging their challenges and provides a good opportunity for fishermen to interact with government officials right on their doorstep.<br />''<br />''The fishing industry is regarded as a rising star, with enormous potential for fostering inclusive growth through the economic empowerment of the fisher folk. <br />