GUILHERME ALMEIDA
MARGAO
This isn’t exactly an issue concerning formalin, but the South Goa Planning and Development (SGPDA) and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have some questions to answer -- how are vehicles importing fish from across the State to Goa’s lone wholesale fish market allowed to park inside the market throughout the day after normal business hours? and do these vehicles store unsold fish for sale the next day without any checks if the fish offered is still fresh or stale?
These and other questions have come to the fore post-formalin episode as citizens question the presence of the outstation fish transporting trucks in the wholesale fish market and along the road leading to the market after business hours.
Vehicles importing fish from across the State’s borders normally arrive at the wholesale fish market in the wee hours of the day. In the normal course of business, one would expect these vehicles to unload the fish and head back to their states. Sources in the know say that one often finds many such vehicles still parked in the wholesale fish market loaded with the unsold fish, for sale the following day.
Says restaurant owner Ivo Almeida Coutinho: “When vehicles come into the wholesale fish market with fish from outside the state, they should unload the fish and return home. These vehicles have no business to stay in the market throughout the day. Is it because they have unsold fish inside to be sold the next day? The FDA and Health Department should take a note of the issue as it concerns the health of fish eating Goans”.
Ivo said authorities as a matter of routine exercise should also inspect the boxes of some of the vendors to ascertain the quality of the fish.
A group of activists comprising of Sidharth Karapurkar and Melvyn Pereira visited the wholesale fish market on Saturday, only to find a number of outstation fish transporting vehicles, including jeeps, pikc-ups and heavy vehicles parked in the market.
“Our inquiries revealed that fish is stored in these trucks. They put ice on the fish and store it for sale the next day. How can fish still remain fresh in these vehicles for two-three days. Have authorities checked these vehicles”, Karapurkar demanded to know.
He pointed out that while outstation trucks belonging to the fish agents are allowed to sell the unsold fish the following day, the SGDPA close the gates of the wholesale fish market after 9 am. “Why is there no free space available for the traditional fishermen bringing in fresh fish into the wholesale fish market? This discrimination should stop immediately”, he said.
Melvyn Pereira echoed similar sentiments. He demanded that while the FDA conducts formalin tests at the border, the Agency has been found wanting in conducting random tests at the wholesale fish market to ascertain whether the fish sold by these outstation vehicles is fresh or stale. “How can fish remain fresh when it is continues to be stored in these vehicles? The FDA should conduct the random tests”, he demanded.
SGPDA officials, however, were tight-lipped over the parking of outstation vehicles with unsold fish in the wholesale market. “I have nothing to say. May be higher PDA authorities will be in a better position to answer the question whether the outstation vehicles can be allowed to park in the market with unsold fish’, remarked a PDA official.
