How fish farming is transforming former Naxalites in J'khand
Jyothi Lakra, 41, was once part of a Naxalite group before abandoning the Left-wing insurgency in 2002. Today, he runs a fish feed mill that earned him Rs 8,00,000 in net profit last year under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme.
"There were no shops selling fish feed nearby. Villagers had to travel 150 km to buy fish feed," said Lakra, who received Rs 18 lakh grant to set up his mill in Gumla district's Basia block. "So I decided to set up a fish feed mill," he told PTI.
The PMMSY scheme, launched in 2020-21 with joint central and state implementation, has trained 157 individual beneficiaries in Gumla district over four years. About 25 per cent of the 8,000-9,000 families in the district now engaged in fish farming were former Naxalite supporters or participants, according to District Fishery Officer Kusumlata.
Gumla district was removed from the Union Home Ministry's list of Naxalite-affected areas in May 2025, alongside Ranchi district, marking a significant decline in Left-wing extremism in the region.
The transformation is stark in areas where "eight out of ten families" once supported what they called a "revolutionary" way of life, according to local officials. Deserted villages have been repopulated, schools and hospitals reopened, and agricultural activity resumed.
Ishwar Gop, 42, another former Naxalite who joined the anti-Maoist Shanti Sena group, now harvests eight quintals of fish annually worth Rs 2,50,000 from a government pond he leases for Rs 1,100 per three-year period.
"I make a profit of Rs 1,20,000 after expenses," said Gop, who owns 25 acres of farmland but found fish farming more profitable than traditional agriculture.
The fish farming initiative began in 2009 when State Fishery Extension Officer Mugda Kumar Topo was posted in the region despite security concerns.
"It was difficult to enter Basia block of Gumla district as Naxal activities were at their peak," said Topo, now based in state capital Ranchi. "After speaking to 50-odd families, a pilot was launched."
The government leased 22 tanks to interested families, including one in a remote forest area that required convincing a former Naxalite to operate due to security fears.
Om Prakash Sahu, an active Naxal supporter until 2007, now operates six fish ponds and harvests 40 quintals annually. In 2024, he received assistance for three ponds with advanced Recirculatory Aquaculture System technology.
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