Una, February 18- It is said that any success can be achieved with hard work and right guidance. Jeevan Lal of Gondpur Banehda village of Gagret block of Una district has proved this to be true. With the support of supportive schemes and government cooperation, he has set an example of self-reliance by taking the path of self-employment.
Moving away from traditional agriculture, he adopted fish farming under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and today he is recognized as a successful entrepreneur in this field. Jeevan Lal, who achieved success within just two years, made a profit of 2.20 lakhs in the first year of business and this year he expects a profit of more than 7 lakhs.
This journey of Jeevan Lal not only brought economic prosperity to him, but has also become a source of inspiration for other farmers.
Vivek Chandel, Director, Fisheries Department, Himachal Pradesh, says that as per the instructions of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the department is trying to create a means of self-employment for the youth by encouraging fish farming. Many schemes are being implemented for this. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, there is a provision of 40 and 60 percent subsidy as per eligibility. At the same time, the government has also started the Chief Minister Carp Fisheries Scheme, in which 80 percent subsidy is being given to the farmers.

This is how the seed of success was sown
Jivan Lal started fish farming on 0.3450 hectares of land in the year 2023-24. During this, he received financial assistance of Rs 1.71 lakh from the government under the PMMSY scheme. Due to his hard work, vision and right strategy, he earned a profit of Rs 2.2 lakh from the first crop itself. After the first success, Jeevan Lal did not look back. In the year 2024-25, he rented the ponds in his neighborhood and expanded carp fish farming. Currently, he has cultivated fish seed in an area of ??about 1.3817 hectares, in which about 6 tons of fish have been produced. By selling them in the middle of the year, he is expecting to earn a profit of about Rs 7.6 lakh.

Success story written with innovation
Keeping in mind the geographical conditions of Himachal Pradesh, Jeevan Lal made some innovations in fish farming, which earned him more profit. He built small but effective ponds in hilly areas, which can be easily operated. Also, he adopted mixed semi-intensive carp culture technology, which increased fish production. Fish feed is expensive in hilly areas, so he fed the fish by making a mixture of cheap food from the market such as leftover pulses and soybean nutri, which reduced the production cost and increased the profit. By expanding his business, he created employment of 72 additional man-days and also employed one person permanently.
Jeevan Lal's success story is a testimony to the increasing possibilities of fish farming in Himachal. It is also an inspiration for all those farmers and youth who want to make their path to success in their life through self-employment.