MARGAO
The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) retail fish market reopened on Tuesday after a month-long Covid lockdown, with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant giving the go-ahead signal for the fish market reopening.
Vendors were seen cleaning the fish market on Tuesday ahead of the reopening after they approached SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa with a plea to open the market, citing the reopening of the fish market in Panaji.
The PDA Chairman immediately took up the matter with the Chief Minister, drawing his attention to the reopening of the Panaji fish market since Monday.
“The Chief Minister was kind enough to accept my request to reopen the PDA fish market. The vendors have started selling fish from the fish market. As it is, unauthorized vendors were making brisk business by selling fish along the roadsides and at nook and corners of the town”, D’Sa said.
To a question, the PDA Chairman, however, was clear in saying the government is not in favour of immediately reopening Goa’s lone wholesale fish market. “I spoke to the Chief Minister on the reopening of the wholesale fish market. The Chief Minister has advised me to wait for some more days before the wholesale fish market is opened for business”, he said.
The government’s stand on the reopening of Goa’s wholesale fish market assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of reports that the fish traders have been knocking the doors of the district authorities for the market reopening.
In fact, sources informed that that the wholesale fish market was all set to reopen on Tuesday morning, on a condition that the market should shut down by 6-7 am, but the proposal has been kept on hold before the government takes a final decision.
