MARGAO
Where’s the Rs 15-crore state-of-the-art food-testing laboratory inaugurated by former Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on January 27, 2019, in the SGPDA retail market in the presence of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and then TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai?
While Prabhu, along with the two minsters, had inaugurated the laboratory with much fanfare, it has not seen the light of day to date. In fact, it is now certain that the laboratory will neither come up at the wholesale fish market nor the retail market.
If SGPDA Chairman Wilfred D’Sa is to be believed, the state-of-the-art laboratory inaugurated by Prabhu was only supposed to test food items meant for export. “During our discussions with officials of the Export Inspection Agency (EIA), it became clear that the proposed laboratory will only test food meant for exports. The PDA then decided not to have it on its land when it would not serve any purpose”, D’Sa said, adding the FDA current testing facility at the market should suffice for the moment.
Incidentally, the GSIDC has proposed a fish testing laboratory right in the wholesale fish market as and when it is developed with central government funds.
