Drug peddlers in most parts of Goa have become a mafia but in Canacona, fish sellers have become a mafia of sorts and are ruling the taluka with force.
The local fish sellers don’t allow people from outside the area to go on with their business and those new entrants who attempt to sell fish on the streets or in the Canacona Municipal council market are driven away by the old timers.
The new entrants seemed to have a booming business selling fresh fish and at a much cheaper rate on the road side and they sold their fish within hours while the old timers mostly selling stale fish at exorbitant rates fumed at them and bullied their new competitors.
The new comers complained to the local administration but according to Deepak Pagi, who has a group of fishermen at Polem who nurture fish in the sea with the aid and technology at Polem from the state and central government department while speaking to Herald stated that in the initial period they were harassed by the old timers. “We approached the Deputy Collector, Chandrakant Shetkar who also holds additional charge of Canacona Municipal Council. He sorted out the matter and we are selling fish as per the law.”
When contacted, Shetkar said that the fish sellers did not have trade licenses and they complied with the rules and are doing business as per the law.
The other grievances of people visiting pertain to the fish and vegetables vendors at the CMC market. The vendors sit on the road side and block the entrance for motor vehicles and pedestrians. The CMC administration has shown a lackadaisical attitude and to compound to the shoppers misery, stray cattle and dogs rule the streets and if any person leaves his belongings on the bike they are a prized catch for them.
Though this fact was brought to the notice of the Chairperson of the Canacona Municipality and other councillors by Herald, nothing materialized so far except blind promises.
According to Chandrakant Gaonkar, senior citizen and some prominent residents of the Canacona Municipality, “Due to the fisherwomen, the busy road to Pansulem-Rajbhag-Patnem in front of the municipal building has become an accident prone zone.”
They further said that even buses are attempting to stop at the CMC entrance while other vehicles are regularly seen parked haphazardly in the area.
Locals and Councillor of Pansulem ward, Mahadev Desai, who were finding it difficult to move around during Saturday’s crowded bazaar have blamed the municipal authorities for not reprimanding the fisherwomen and other vendors.
It is leant from the locals that some Councillors are reportedly not in favour of restricting fisherwomen to stop their illegal activity due to the ‘vote bank politics’, even though everyone is well aware of the inconvenience it causes to the public.
“The fisherwomen are provided with a spacious fish market. Why are they allowed to carry on their business along the road,” asked one local senior citizen Punoji Gaonkar. “This has been regularly happening in full view of municipals staff who are least bothered about setting things rights,” Punoji added.
Another local added, “These fisherwomen had complained bitterly against fisherwomen from Karwar (who are incidentally not allowed to sit in Canacona fish market) selling fish elsewhere in municipal areas. They were even assaulted on a number of occasions before. Then why are fisherwomen from Chaudi market regularly flouting the rules themselves?” asked a local who did not wanted to be named because of the mafia fish seller lobby.
