MARGAO
Wholesale fish traders have welcomed Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s decision to post FDA officer Iva Fernandes at Goa’s lone wholesale fish market from next week, but wondered whether Iva’s presence will serve any purpose when the government has stopped the entry of fish trucks at the State borders.
While welcoming Iva’s posting at the wholesale fish market, President of the Wholesale Fish Market Association Maulana Ibrahim recalled that the association had in the past demanded that the
government, instead of stopping the fish trucks, should depute Iva in the market to check the fish for any preservatives.
“We the wholesale fish traders welcome the government decision to post Iva at the wholesale fish market. In the past, the wholesalers had demanded that the government post Iva in the wholesale fish market, not only to test fish coming into the market, but to restore the confidence of the fish eating Goans,”
he said.
Ibrahim, however, pointed out that Iva’s presence in the market will not serve any purpose unless trucks importing fish into the State are permitted entry at the borders. “When the government is not allowing the insulated trucks into the State on the premise that the traders have no trade license from the Margao municipality, Iva’s presence will not serve any purpose,” he said, while demanding that the government allow the insulated fish carrying trucks into the State so that Iva and her team test the fish at the market entrance before allowing these inside. “We have complied with the major conditions of the FDA, including transporting the fish in insulated vehicles and obtaining NOC from the SGPDA. The traders could not obtain the trade license from the MMC with the civic body insisting that trade licenses can be issued only for a closed premises and not for a business conducted in an open space,” Ibrahim said, adding that testing of each and every truck at the wholesale fish market by Iva and her team will help restore confidence of Goans.
