PERNEM: Pernem people, deprived of mobile fish stall scheme, have demanded that government provide mobile fish stall at least twice a week.
It has been almost four years that the Fisheries Department has introduced mobile fish stall facility in Goa. However, people of Pernem are deprived of this scheme of mobile fish stall even after so many years.
The mobile fish stall introduced by the Fisheries Department to make available fish to people at the rate of 5% above the wholesale price. These mobile vans are handed over to the Fisheries Co-operative Societies and Self Help Groups to run on behalf of the department, however, these vans operate only in few parts of North Goa and South Goa.
By depriving the people of getting fish at affordable price, the government is doing injustice, locals say.
“It’s been four years since this scheme is introduced but more than half of Goa’s population is deprived from getting benefits of this scheme. These vans visit different locations but they park the van at isolated locations where they are not easily available for people. Schemes are being introduced and crores of public money is used for it. Politicians claim that they are doing development but nothing actually happens at ground level,” one Dilip Parab said.
One Tony Dmello said, “Not every day but these vans should be made available to the people in rural areas at least for two days a week. If this scheme is introduced for the benefit of the public then why is the public deprived from this scheme? At present there is no fresh fish available in the market. Frozen fish is being sold in the market. There are no checkups carried out in fish market which can detect formalin in fish. If government itself provides fresh fish at affordable price everywhere and not only at some locations than common man will not get affected from formalin fish.”
“The price of fish has touched the sky of late. There is no fish in market below Rs 100 or Rs 200. If this continues then it will be difficult for the common man to survive,” one Sanjay Pednekar said.
