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A total of 250 kilogrammes of fish fry were released into the Parliament Lake in Dhaka on Monday as part of an initiative to encourage fish production and help meet the country’s demand for animal protein.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram released the fry, including rohu, mrigal, catla and kalibaus, as the chief guest at a programme held at the lake premises in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
A total of 1,200kg of fish fry will be released into the lake in phases, officials said.
The programme was organised on Monday (September 28), with Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni in the chair. Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat Secretary Barrister Md Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan delivered the welcome address.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and the Parliament Secretariat attended the event.
Speaking at the programme, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said planned fish farming in open and closed water bodies plays an important role in meeting the country’s demand for animal protein.
He said the initiative to release fish fry into the Parliament Lake was part of broader efforts to promote fish farming across the country.
Bangladesh’s coastal areas and the Bay of Bengal have significant potential for fisheries development, he said, adding that fish cultivation in the Parliament Lake was also intended to encourage people in rural areas to increase fish production.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the government had taken special measures to increase fish and meat production to ensure adequate supplies of animal protein.
He stressed the need to substantially increase fish production across the country to uphold the traditional concept of a “fish-and-rice” diet in Bangladesh.
He expressed hope that the initiative at Parliament Lake would encourage people to take greater interest in fish farming in their own ponds and other water bodies.