MARGAO
Announcing this at a press conference, the President of All Goa Bakers & Confectioners Association, Peter Fernandes, said the \'pao\' will be made available in the market with two different price tags -- Rs 3 (for 30 grams) and Rs 5 (for 50 gms).
He said he would call on Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar with their list of demands such as reserving 50 per cent quota of firewood for bakers at government auctions of firewood, single-window system for speedy action vis-a-vis bureaucratic procedures, government subsidy on buying machines, scooters / autorickshaws for bakers, ovens and generators and reserving sheds in industrial estates for bakers.
He also assured Goans that \'pao\' does not contain Potassium Bromate. “Goan bakers do not use Potassium Bromate. Goans can eat bread without any fear,” Fernandes stated.
He also spoke about other problems faced by bakers, particularly due to the influx of migrant bakers. “The traditional flavour of the pao will be lost if Goans give up the trade. Goan \'poders\' therefore need support from the government and the people\", Fernandes said.
He said there around 500 bakers in Goa, but Goans constitute just 10 per cent of the traditional bakers.
