Biplab Deb's Latest: Ducks Increase Oxygen Levels In Water Bodies When They Swim

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday sparked another controversy by saying that ducks automatically increase oxygen levels in water bodies.

Addressing the inaugural event of a traditional boat race at Rudrasagar, an artificial lake around water palace Neermahal, Deb said he wants to distribute ducks among villagers as that will boost rural economy. 

“When ducks swim in water, the oxygen level automatically increases in the water body. It [oxygen] gets recycled. Fish in the water will get more oxygen. They also benefit from the bird droppings. Thus, pisciculture will benefit and fish will grow faster, that too in a completely organic way,"  Deb quoted as saying.

The chief minister also said that the government was planning to distribute 50,000 ducklings to villagers whose homes are near water bodies. He also urged every family to rear ducks as it will go a long way in sustaining the environment. 

The Tripura chief minister added he wants every family to rear four to five ducks. Rearing ducks will help meet all the protein and vitamin requirements of children in the family.

Mihir Lal Roy of the Tripura Juktibad Vikas Mancha, a organisation whose stated goal is to promote scientific thought, described Deb’s comments as “loose talk” that did not have any scientific basis. “I am not sure why he has made these comments,” Roy said. “We expect sound knowledge from a chief minister. It is true that water bodies get aerated if there is movement in the water. But there is no scientific evidence that swimming ducks can do the job.”

Earlier this year, Deb had claimed that satellite communication and Internet existed in the days of Mahabharata. He added that with the help of the technology, Sanjaya (the charioteer of king Dhritarashtra) “gave a detailed account and description to the blind king about the battle of Kurukshetra.”

He had also hogged the limelight in the past for suggesting that mechanical engineers should not take up the civil services and for advising the youths of Tripura not to apply for government jobs, but milk cows and run pan stalls for earning their livelihood, instead.