The fish import ban appears to be more complicated than the formalin-in-fish issue. While Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has stuck to his guns and proceeded with plans, he has left too many loose ends that question the hurry. Call it one-upmanship or revengeful politics, the fish import ban is here. And it is very clear that illegally imported fish will be seized and destroyed at the Saligao Waste Treatment Plant. But who is going to do the job? When 120 crates of fish were brought to the Margao police station on Wednesday, the police completely washed their hands off and pushed the ball back in the FDA court. The police leadership has put it straight that it has no authority to destroy the ‘prized catch’, and doesn’t have the manpower required for the job. It appears that the FDA, which is currently struggling with health and food safety checks, will end up in a bigger mess with an added job of disposing fish themselves. In a world of uncertainties, FDA could even decide to send vehicles on ‘auto-pilot’ mode to Saligao to get the fish destroyed.
Secondly, the fish import ban has virtually thrown the FDA and the enforcing authorities into a tizzy keeping them guessing when confronting even the local fish. There is a sizable catch which is offloaded on jetties and there are vehicles which bring in the catch of traditional fishermen and boat owners. It will be ludicrous asking locals to prove that their fish is not imported. It’s going to even discourage local fishermen resulting in a bigger fish crisis.
Thirdly, the entire exercise of imposing a fish import ban to check formalin in fish smacks of hypocrisy. A closer scrutiny of the measures put in place by the FDA reveals a completely different picture. Transporting fish in insulated vehicles doesn’t mean that the fish is clean, neither does the licensing protocol guarantee fresh fish. This effectively means that the fish can still be formalin-treated, despite these checks. Then, can we call this a fool-proof system?
The festive season has set in and tourism is at its peak. If mackerels saved Goans on Day-1 of the ban, the second day was quite a struggle and the uncertainty ahead is obvious. The government cannot pull the plug abruptly throwing the State into chaos. There is economics involved and hence alternate arrangements should have been put in place. If the ban is scaled down to accommodate starred hotels which comply with the Food Safety and Standard Act, it’s not going to help the common man. A chunk of Goa’s tourism revolves outside the starred hotels and this is where it’s going to hurt.
The finer nuances of the ban need to be ironed out and a Plan B needs to be put in place on an immediate basis. Why is the government not rushing in with its mobile fish van as an interim measure? If the hotel industry is accommodated, the common man’s fish-curry-rice also needs to be factored in.
