NT NETWORK
MARGAO
With the government initiating action against fish brought from outside the state without proper licence for its transport from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), president of Margao wholesale fish market association Ibrahim Maulana has pitched for setting up of fish testing lab in the wholesale fish market.
Terming the whole issue politically motivated, Maulana said that only a check on fish from outside the state at the border will not fully curb the use of formalin for stocking up fish. He also warned that they will stop sale of fish brought from outside the state if the government fails to set up fish testing lab in the wholesale fish market by November 1.
Maulana said that their demands to meet the Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai, Fisheries Minister Vinod Palyekar over the ‘formalin-in-fish’ row have fallen on deaf ears. He called upon the Chief Secretary to meet them by October 31 or else they will stop sale of outside fish from the next day.
On the issue of transport of fish in insulated vehicles, Maulana said that only the fish load brought from over 500 kms away and which is in transit for over 12 hours requires to be transported in insulated vehicles.
He said, “The whole idea is to provide fresh fish. Fish from Malwan reaches Goa within four hours and fish from Mandpe reaches Goa in 7 hours and so insulated vehicles are not needed to transport it.”