MARGAO
Does it require rocket science for the South Goa Planning and Development (SGPDA) to identify the Niz Goemkar traditional fishermen from the illegal migrant retail vendors doing business at Goa’s lone PDA-run wholesale fish market?
That’s not all. Where in its orders has the High Court directed the SGPDA or the Margao Municipality to stop the traditional fishermen from getting their fish catch from the sea to the SGPDA wholesale fish market for sale? And, by restricting the business timing in the wholesale fish market at 10 am, are the authorities giving the fish traders, including traders from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala an advantage over the local fishermen in fish business in the market.
These and other questions may come to haunt the SGPDA, including its members Chairman, MLA Krishna Salkar, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco and Ponda MLA and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, as the Planning body has called for an emergency meeting of the Authority on Wednesday to work out a solution to the demand of the traditional fishermen inhabiting the Mormugao and Salcete coastal belt to allow them to sell fresh sea fish in the wholesale fish market at any part of the day.
Traditional fishermen, including ramponkars, voddekars, magkars and cantarekars have all maintained that they have been selling their catch in the wholesale fish market over the years. The SGPDA and the MMC, on the other hand, has insisted that retail sale of fish is taking place in the wholesale fish market by local and migrant fish vendors under the guise of wholesale fish trade.
The moot question, however, remains unanswered “ why cannot the SGPDA or the MMC identify the migrant vendors involved in retail fish trade from the traditional fishermen who come with fish baskets for wholesale fish sale?
In fact, the traditional fishermen say it is for the PDA or MMC to crack a whip against the retail fish sale in the wholesale fish market. They, however, hastened to add that under the guise of retail fish sale, the traditional fishermen cannot be categorized with the retailers and stopped from doing business.
The traditional fishermen further pointed out that nowhere in the orders has the High Court called for a stop to the sale of fresh fish in the wholesale fish market. “Let the SGPDA or the MMC show us the orders wherein the High court has specifically called for stopping traditional fishermen from doing business in the wholesale fish market after 10 am”, remarked a fishermen.
