MARGAO: Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Wednesday directed that the truck seized at Margao and found carrying spoilt fish be sent to the Saligao garbage treatment plant to destroy the fish on grounds that the driver of the vehicle had no documents to prove from where the fish was collected.
Vishwajit also announced that henceforth any fish being transported within Goa without proper documents will be summarily destroyed.
Today at Margao Alexander Araujo of Loutolim complained to the police that he had intercepted a closed mini-truck carrying fish laced with formalin near the power house at Aquem in Margao and accordingly police rushed to scene and seized the vehicle.
Apparently Tausik Ahmed from Ribandar has a contract with the fishing jetty at Betim to transport their spoilt fish to the fish meal plant at Cuncolim Industrial Estate and as such was transporting some fish today.
Alexander who was tipped off about the trip intercepted the vehicle and on opening the truck they were assailed with stinking smell of the spoilt fish and he immediately called the police. The truck had 15 boxes of fish locally called ‘Tonki’ and 105 boxes of small fish which were covered with ice and the dripping ice water emitted the stink.
Police detained the vehicle and brought it to the district police headquarters, where quite a significant portion of the old bus stand where it was parked, was stinking. The police contacted Food and Drug Administration about the matter.
“The FDA said that they have nothing to do with fish that is transported within the State and hence we shall have to release the truck shortly,” said Margao Town Police Inspector Kapil Nayak.
However, following Vishwajit’s instructions the truck was sent to the Saligao waste management plant.
