PORVORIM: On Thursday, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat urged the government to halt the sale of retail fish in the wholesale fish market operated by the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) located along the Western Bypass Road at Margao. At the same time, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai demanded the relocation of the wholesale market from his constituency.
Kamat, who had presented a starred question regarding sopo collection at the wholesale fish market, informed the Legislative Assembly that a retail market had sprung up near the wholesale market, engaging in the sale of fish and other commodities, causing a nuisance. He also urged the government to tender the sopo collection, citing a significant increase from Rs 12 lakh in 2019 to Rs 2.20 crore last year after the SGPDA took over the exercise of collecting sopo.
However, in his supplementary question, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai insisted on relocating the wholesale fish market from his constituency. He alleged that in the past, the sopo collection was awarded to an individual with links to a political party and known as an anti-social element.
“I had opposed the wholesale fish market and had planned the construction of a modern market with a new concept. However, it could not materialise as I was dropped from the Cabinet,” said Sardesai, emphasising the need to shift the wholesale market out of his constituency. He also demanded that the government should tender the sopo collection.
In response, Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vishwajit Rane assured Kamat that the government would soon tender the sopo collection at the SGPDA market. He also assured to demolish the SGPDA market and to shift it to a new place, but did not specify which market.
