MARGAO: With no arrests made in the fish formalin contamination case, which rocked Goa, it now appears that the government is treading a cautious path to protect the members of its coalition partners involved in the illegal trade.
Continuing its pressure on the government, the opposition Congress has alleged that in a carefully crafted modus operandi, most of Goa’s fish catch is bought by the fish mafia associated with one of the partners of the ruling coalition, by creating an artificial scarcity which has forced Goans to buy expensive fish despite a good catch.
Leading the opposition charge, former Chief Minister and Congress’ Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro said, “The government is paying only lip service. They have not taken any action. Has anyone been arrested? Have they filed any case? Have they confiscated any fish laced with formalin? No. The fish mafia is killing people. They are the merchants of greed and evil. We are not satisfied with being given calling attention since it is only to give a clarification. We want a discussion and debate on this issue, which is affecting the health of Goans. This is an economic issue. We are producing around 320 tonnes of fish a day of which barely 5-10% reaches the Goan market. The rest is exported. On the other hand, we are importing around 200 tonnes a day. There is an artificial scarcity created by this mafia headed by Maulana Ibrahim. The third issue is the fishermen, who are left high and dry because this one man Ibrahim is controlling the market in Goa.”
NCP Benaulim MLA Churchil Alemao said, “What is more important, loss of life or loss of Assembly business? Formalin in fish is a serious issue and had to be taken up. The wholesale business should be given to Goans. If all the 40 MLAs want to protect the interest of Goa, then the fish market mafia which controls the whole sale fish market has to be banned.”
Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserrate echoed this saying, “What the opposition did today was right. The government does not want to take responsibility and does not want to answer. They just want to hush it up. We want them to explain to us how this controversy happened. How FDA gave one report and conflicting reports came from MLAs. Banning fish for 15 days is not a solution. We may consider banning both import and export of fish. Goans can sacrifice for two months by accepting the fishing ban. Why should good quality fish from our waters be exported?”
And the collective outrage over monopolisation of fish trade, denial of cheap, safe and quality fish to Goans by poaching Goa’s fish catch is growing.
Former Chief Minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, who sees a telltale pattern to hide the reality said, “This motion is concerned with the life of the people, which is why all 16 of our MLAs signed the motion. I don’t know why the government does not want to debate on this issue. They are trying to address this issue with a simple calling attention signed by just two MLAs. They are not trying to go into the root cause of formalin and who is responsible. The way they have not given importance today is questionable. They have issued a press note stating they have banned vehicles from entering the State but in the order, the word ban is not mentioned.”
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said, “Internally, even the ruling side agreed that this is a serious issue. Although the issue touches the heart of the people, the government knows that if a discussion is held, a lot of ugly things will come out. However, we will continue our agitation. Although I had asked for calling attention, today we wanted a discussion, which the government did not allow. We will continue to demand a discussion so that the government provides answers to people’s questions. Goans do not want to compromise on quality fish and therefore the government has to act on traders, who are involved and thoroughly check for formalin and other chemical content in fish and other items such as vegetables, fruits and meat.”
“The government does not seem to feel the pulse of the people of Goa regarding this issue. Unless this issue is taken up and debated, the opposition will not be satisfied. We want to convey to the government the message from Goans. We will continue with our demands tomorrow as well,” Velim MLA Felipe Neri Rodrigues said.
