MARGAO
Retail fish vendors found themselves in a quandary following the closure of the SGPDA fish market by the police on day one of the lockdown on Sunday.
Having stocked fish worth thousands in the market since Saturday, the vendors had moved out of the market after keeping the fish inside on Sunday.
In fact, Monday saw a group of fish vendors entering the market in order to carry away the fish which was left behind on Sunday, fearing it will turn stale and cause huge losses.
While a couple of vendors lifted away the fish crates out of the market, others preferred to keep the fish stocked inside by adding ice.
President of the Margao Fish Vendors Association Felix Gonsalves informed that the fish vendors will suffer huge losses if the stock is not sold immediately.
“We had purchased and stocked the fish on Saturday as well as on Sunday thinking that the fish market will be exempted from the lockdown since fish is the staple food and an essential food item,” he said.
Felix pointed out that the vendors will make a plea to the SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa, to seek permission to allow the vendors to dispose of the fish by maintaining social distancing. “Unlike other fish markets, the PDA retail fish market is spacious where Covid safety norms can be followed,” he said, while hoping against hope that the government would consider their plea to sell the fish stock.
To a question, he said the fish vendors will have no option but to take away the fish from the PDA market if the government does not consider their plea and allow them to sell the fish.
