TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Boat owners and traditional fishermen from South Goa have knocked the doors of the Chief Minister seeking justice in the allotment of sopo tender of SGPDA’s wholesale fish market.
Taking cognisance of grievances of the fishermen, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has told SGPDA Chairman Rajan Naik to send him the PDA sopo file if the authority has problems in arriving at a decision.
The fishermen’s delegation comprising of the presidents of boat owners from Vasco and Cutbona, Sydney Furtado and Seby Cardozo, besides leaders of ramponkars Agnelo Rodrigues and Piedade Baptista called on the Chief Minister and complained that the PDA is dilly dallying in finalising the sopo tender under the pretext of scrutiny. The delegation impressed upon the Chief Minister that representatives of the fishermen had quoted the highest bid, but their bid has till date not found favour with the SGPDA.
President of Cutbona Boat Owners Union, Seby Cardozo, told the media that the delegation told the Chief Minister that the boat owners and the ramponkars have come together to look after the upkeep and maintenance of the wholesale fish market. “When our bids are the highest why is the PDA delaying the entire process under the guise of scrutiny? As the highest bidder, the contract should come to us, but the SGPDA says the bids are still being scrutinised”, he said.
When contacted, SGPDA Rajan Naik confirmed that the Chief Minister has told him to send the wholesale fish market sopo file if there are any problems. “The sopo issue will be deliberated at the meeting of the PDA before it takes further action on the matter”, he said.
Sources in the PDA said the Authority might seek information from the Fisheries Department to find out whether the department had engaged any agency for sopo collection at the fishing jetties.
