The initiative to promote Chhuzanggang Gewog in Saprang as a mass producer of fish failed to yield results as expected. Fish farming was once a popular activity in the gewog and considering this, the government, in 2004, had constructed three ponds.
But the facility was never used optimally.
Today, the ponds, each of it not less than an acre in size, have dried up. While one of it has been transformed into an archery range, the other two serve as grazing grounds.
The government had handed over the ponds to the farmers after forming groups.
“I saw people use the ponds for about five years. But after that, I don’t know what happened since I wasn’t involved. They stopped using it. Maybe it was due to some misunderstanding among the users. At one time, they even started rearing pigs by the side of the ponds but later, the pigsties were dismantled,” said Pintu, from Chhuzanggang Gewog in Sarpang.
According to Chhuzanggang gup Sangay Tshering, people stopped fish farming due to insufficient water supply. The ponds were used for only two years.
“The old fish ponds are still filled with water. But for the three new ones, the ponds were constructed in places with limited water supply. So after a year or two, people stopped using the ponds. Even to this day, the situation remains the same,” said Sangay Tshering, the Chhuzanggang Gup.
But all is not lost of the farming practice long associated with the community. The gewog office, in collaboration with the district administration, is reviving fish farming by financially supporting those into fish farming in the community.
As of now, five households have taken up the farming practice of which, two are doing it commercially.
“In the new ponds, last year, we encountered some problems with the growth of fish. But this time, the harvest was better and we sold it off during the recent foothills festival,” the Gup added.
Besides fish farming, the gewog is also promoting other livestock farming with an intention to meet the national goal of self-sufficiency.
Karma Wangdi
