Team Herald
MARGAO: Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao while supporting the government decision to ban import of fish for six months accused the Congress Party of politicizing the issue and stoutly objected to its demand to ban export of Goan fish.
Briefing media persons he said it was better to have no fish than having fish laced with formalin as has been happening for the last many years since fish was being imported from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
He said union minister Suresh Prabhu has promised a state of art laboratory for Goa that will test not only fish but also vegetables, fruits and other food items imported into Goa and he said this is the right step as it will ensure that Goans get hygienic food.
While expressing his support to the government’s decision to ban fish import till this laboratory is set up however said Goans will have to decide whether the ban should be imposed or not. “People’s voice should prevail and they should decide whether the import of fish should continue,” he said.
Recalling the period when he was actively involved in the fishing industry he said when the Wholesale Fish Market was set up in Madel it was managed entirely by Goans with a few migrants including one Mamu.
“Trawler owners like me used to sell our fish to this Mamu at wholesale rate and he in turn would sell it to the fish vendors and others,” he said revealing that Maulana Ibrahim is the son of the same Mamu who has now taken over the entire wholesale fish market along with other migrants pushing away the Goan fisherfolk.
He said his application to be registered as a wholesale fish vendor was rejected at the instance of the migrants who do not want to allow any Goan to join the trade and demanded that the wholesale fish market be given back to Goan fishermen.
He said Ibrahim began importing fish from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu during the monsoon season in Goa as it was fishing season in those states.
As it takes about 48 hours to transport the fish from those states to Goa, formalin was used to keep the fish fresh by sprinkling it on the ice.
Churchill accused Ibrahim and his coterie of letting around 20 vehicles carrying fish from other States enter the wholesale market in the night and keeping the Goan trawler owners fish outside till the imported fish is sold and then purchasing the Goan fish at a cheap rate to export it.
He castigated the Congress Party for politicizing the fish issue without having any knowledge of the fishing industry and laughed at the suggestion to ban export of Goan fish. “Ribbon Fish and Tuna which are not consumed by Goans is exported and sometimes maybe mackerel,” he said pointing out that if this fish is not exported Goan trawler owners will suffer huge losses.
Even as GPCC President Girish Chodankar demanded a ban on fish import, his party colleague Sankalp Amonkar is complaining of fish scarcity and Cruz Cardoso of the shack owners association has also expressed fears of the ban affecting the tourism industry pointed out Churchill.
