MARGAO
Expressing its concern over the state of hygiene and cleanliness at the wholesale fish market road and the market area, the High Court on Wednesday issued a host of directions, including an inspection of the wholesale fish market on Wednesday by the authorities, including the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) and the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA).
That’s not all. The High Court has further directed the MMC and the SGPDA to convene a meeting before October 4 with the representatives of the stakeholders to work out a permanent solution to the problem of waste disposal and hygiene.
The High Court has further directed the authorities to immediately install CCTV cameras as the wholesale fish market to monitor the nuisance and waste disposal and to zero in on the persons responsible for causing the mess.
The authorities have been directed to file status reports of the situation at the next date of hearing on October 9.
That the High Court directed the MMC, SGPDA and the GSPCB to conduct the inspection of the wholesale fish market and the wholesale fish market road indicates that the Court was unhappy with the progress of work initiated to abate the waste nuisance along the road.
This is the second time in the last few months that the High Court has ordered the authorities to hold urgent site inspection. The last time, the High Court had issued similar directions was in relation of the Sonsodo matter when the Court issued directions to the South Goa district Collector Asvin Chandru to inspect the Sonsodo site and file a status report the every next day.
At the last date of hearing on September 13, the High Court had told the MMC and the SGPDA to conduct site inspection of the wholesale fish market road and the wholesale fish market and to abate the nuisance caused by the vendors doing business adjoining the wholesale fish market road.
Though the MMC had set in motion the process to stop fish vending outside the wholesale market, the action had triggered uproar from the traditional fishermen hailing from the Salcete and Mormugao coast as they insisted the cannot be barred from selling fish at any part of the day.
Two days ago, MMC Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar and SGPDA Member Secretary Sheikh Ali had descended at the wholesale fish market road, only to find thermocol and other waste dumped all along the wholesale fish market road.
