MARGAO
Social distancing is still a far cry in Goa’s SGPDA-owned wholesale fish market, days after it resumed activity amid the Covid crisis.
No authority was seen around to enforce social distancing, which has been thrown to the winds by the thousands of people crowding the market every morning.
That a couple of fish cutters tested positive for coronavirus has not come as a deterrence for the wholesalers, traders and the retail vendors, besides customers who throng the market every day.
Take note, the South Goa Planning and Development Authority had its meeting on Tuesday to discuss the sopo contract for the market, but no issue concerning social distancing was on the agenda of the planning body.
In fact, a visit to the market revealed a worsening scenario. Thousands of people thronged the market, including the retail fish vendors from all parts of the state, to lay their hands on the best fish available. No doubt, most of the people were found wearing masks, but social distancing continues to be a far cry.
A trader said the very nature of the wholesale fish trade offers no scope for social distancing.
The authorities, including the police and the PDA, had put a system in place to enforce social distancing, but the situation has come a full circle despite the rising Covid cases in the state.
