Team Herald
MARGAO: South Goa District Magistrate has issued a notice to the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) and South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) with regard to the nuisance and use of formalin in fish at Wholesale Fish Market, Margao.
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Deputy Collector Jyoti Kumari has issued the notice and asked the officials of the MMC and SGPDA to remain present for the hearing on May 27. Complainant Savio Dias, a citizen of Madel had sought revision of the matter as it was kept in abeyance and there is no final disposal order pronounced.
In the letter to the District Magistrate, the complainant had stated that nuisance/hazards faced by the general public specifically at the Wholesale Fish Market is to date neither solved nor there are any measures are taken. The issue of formalin used in fish surfaced in 2018 and till now no concrete system is in place to check the imported fish.
As per the undertaking, it was stated that the gates would be erected at the market premises to prevent the fish retailers from entering the market. However, now we see that the fish retailers selling the fish inside the market and after 10 am daily they occupy the road widening area or parking space outside the Wholesale Fish Market, the complainant stated.
The complainant also states that there is nothing clear on whether formalin is used in fish which is exported from other States to the Wholesale Fish Market. Ever since the Formalin issue surfaced in 2018, the government did announce the setting up of a world-class laboratory for fish testing but till now there is no sign of the lab in Margao. There is an agency checking the fish which is being imported from other States at the entry point of the Wholesale Fish Market but there is no transparency in the testing as no results are declared.
To resolve the hardship and health hazards faced by the general public, revision of the case is a must, stated the complainant. Accordingly, on May 21, Deputy Collector issued a notice to both MMC and SGPDA for the hearing scheduled on May 27.
