MARGAO
A little over half a decade since he had the SGPDA mega retail fish market renovated on the lines of the Dubai fish market, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai found the market in shambles on Friday, lacking sanitation and cleanliness.
The state of affairs, he said, does not bode well for the State, given that fish is the staple food of Goans. However, there is hope for a turnaround, as the Fatorda MLA has decided to use leftover funds from a PWD project to improve the cleanliness of the market and its surroundings.
“This isn’t the market we renovated on the lines of Dubai. After completion of the renovation, the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation decided to build a similar market in their jurisdiction. But here, the market has been left to decay for reasons known best to the government and the PDA,” he said.
He added, “I am appalled by the utterly unhygienic and unsanitary conditions in which fish are being sold at the SGPDA retail fish market, which I upgraded to international standards when I was a minister. I am shocked by the damage and ruin the building has suffered due to the administration’s unforgivable neglect and apathy. Allowing whole communities and neighbourhoods to become breeding grounds for infectious diseases, jeopardising the health of Goans, is a criminal act. I cannot sit idle in the face of such callousness and will do whatever I can to reverse this situation, apart from raising this issue in the Assembly.”
As part of the makeover plan, Sardesai said the PWD contractor will trim the trees and clear away the waste dumped along the periphery. “The contractor has been instructed to remove the waste that has spilled into the adjoining fields, which now threatens to become a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes,” he said.
Stating that his cleanliness drive will ensure basic sanitation and cleanliness in the market surroundings, Sardesai said, “Let the PDA take up the internal maintenance of the market. I will raise this issue in the forthcoming Assembly session.”
Criticising the SGPDA’s attitude and attributing the lack of maintenance to the refusal by fish vendors to pay increased fees, Sardesai said, “When we renovated the market, we reduced the maintenance charges, yet the market remained clean and hygienic. First, provide vendors with proper services, then consider raising maintenance fees.”
