Channa Barca price Rs. 2 lakh

If the price of Hilsa has hit the rooftop consider Channa Barca or Snakehead Barca the price of which is unbelievably high in the international market just because it’s rare and beautiful.

 

This species of fish is endemic to a few states of the northeast and Bangladesh. The cost of a baby Channa Barca of 2-3 cm length may fetch Rs. 4000 in the international market and an adult which may grow to a meter or a tad longer may fetch over Rs. 2 lakh.

 

Found in a few pockets in Bangladesh, upper Assam, Nagaland and also in Garo Hills, Meghalaya.  This rare freshwater fish is highly territorial carnivorous in nature and can live both in water and land.  During the lean season this fish can burrow into holes near wetlands and rivers and hibernate till the water level rises again.

 

It is a critically endangered species due to loss of habitat and also because the species has a low fecundity or low reproduction rate. “This fish cost over Rs. 40,000,” Balkam Sangma, Fishery Officer from the Meghalaya State Technical Research and Training Institute (MSRTI) said, pointing to a Chana Barca bred in captivity.

 

The fish Sangma pointed to was no longer than 15 cm. He said that in Garo Hills it’s locally called Nachi and people are still unaware of its value in the international market and its rarity and sells these at a price like any other abundantly available fish.

 

In Assam it’s known as Garaka Cheng or Pipli Cheng. Its scientific name is Channa striata. This fish is  found in upper Assam especially near the wetlands of Orang National Park.

 

Poachers habitually smuggle out this fish to destinations such as Indonesia, Thailand and other South East Asian countries where this fish is in high demand as an ornamental fish and also as fish food.

 

“We are trying to raise awareness about this rare and endangered variety of fish and also trying to breed it in captivity with new technology such as the re-circulatory aquaculture system,” Sangma informed. 

 

 

 

 

 

"we are all Sanatanis" : Temjen Imna Along

 

“We are all Sanatanis,” Nagaland Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Temjen Imna Along said here today while adding he’s a practicing Christian.

 

Speaking at the sideline of a programme here organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarti Parishad, Along said, before the tribals converted to Christianity and other faiths everyone was practicing an animistic religion.

 

Along was referring to the Sanskrit word Sanatan which means anything which is “eternal” and integral to a living entity and anyone who believes in Sanatan is a Sanatani.    

 

Refusing to draw into RSS chief’s Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement that “everyone is a Hindu” who dwells within the geographic confines from the Himalayas to the north to the Bay of Bengal to the south, Along said the "context" needs to be understood first.

 

“Hinduism is too vast a subject to be described here,” the Nagaland Minister, who is also the BJP state President of Nagaland, said adding, whichever faith we follow “we are all Indians.”

 

Earlier, during  the programme, Along asked the gathering if there are any foreigners in the audience, when there was no response he raised the slogan "Bharat Mata ki Jai."

 

He later said that many hesitate to say they are Bharatiya because it’s a Hindi word, but have no problem saying they are Indian. Urging the students to be “inclusive in diversity,” Along said many are trying to be exclusive.

 

“Each of our identities is unique, but that cannot be taken into exclusiveness... diversity should lead us to inclusiveness…only then a nation would survive,” he said to the students.   

 

Urging the students to be “proud of their roots,” Along said India’s strength has always been its education sector from ancient times, but with the advent of invaders like the British and others this ancient civilization with its rich culture and heritage was attempted to be destroyed.

 

“The British tried to bring in newer narratives,” he said while urging the students to be proud of their rich history, tradition and heritage. (eom)