the goan I network
MARGAO
Alleging that the government is compromising on the fish quality brought into the state from outside because of some fish agents, Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco on Saturday demanded that the government ensure zero use of formalin in fish and other food items such as fruit
and vegetables sold in the state.
Addressing the media, the three-time Curtorim MLA demanded that the authorities carry out regular/daily checks on the fish and other food items sold in all the markets across the state.
While terming as a “cruel joke” the contention of FDA there can be permissible limit for dangerous formalin, Reginaldo wondered how can there be a permissible limit for formalin, a carcinogenic substance.
Saying that he would raise the issue in the ensuing session of the Goa Legislative Assembly, the Congress MLA said the 61-day fishing ban in Goa has become irrelevant as there is no dearth of it because fish doused with lethal formalin is imported into Goa from Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc.
“There is absolutely no check on the quality of fish that is being sold because the government of Manohar Parrikar is hand-in-glove with the perpetrators of the crime,” he alleged.
He said Goemkars are baffled that their government is not banning fish preserved with formalin as states such as Kerala, Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, etc have done.
“The health of Goemkars is being slowly consigned to the death bed by Goa’s BJP-led government. For funding BJP at the centre in the 2019 general election, the government’s only concern is to collect money from the fish mafia which thrives using formalin on fish,” he added.
“What Goemkars demand now is a thorough probe into the formalin episode. It is the bounded duty of the government to check each and every vehicle bringing fish into the wholesale fish market,” he demanded.
