TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The fishermen community comprising boat owners and ramponkars from South Goa have served a deadline on the SGPDA to finalise the wholesale sopo bid within 15 days or they would take to the streets.
At a joint media conference on Monday, the fishermen accused the SGPDA for denying the fishermen the sopo tender under the guise of carrying out scrutiny of the tender documents. They said even the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has called for the sopo tender file, but accused the SGPDA for dilly dallying on the issue to prevent the fishermen from taking the maintenance tender.
President of Cutbona Boat Owners Association Seby Cardozo said the bids submitted by the fishermen have turned out to be the highest, but lamented that the SGPDA is denying them the tender under the guise of scrutiny. “It’s now over a month since the tender was opened by the SGPDA. But the PDA still maintains that it is scrutinising the tender documents. This is only a ploy to deny the fishermen the tender”, he said, adding “give us the tender for a year and see the difference in the wholesale fish market”.
He slammed the MLAs from South Goa representing on the PDA for not supporting the claims of the fishermen. Without taking names, Cardozo accused the MLAs for supporting the dummy bidders.
In his address, Cutbona Boat Owners Union Vice-President Roosevelt Alemao said the fishing activity is the only industry run by Goans. “First, they tried to float two tenders but backtracked after our protest. Now, we have bagged the tender and they don’t want to give it to us”, he rued.
President of Niz Ramponkarancho Ekvott Piedade Baptista said the fishermen are all united in their mission to bag wholesale sopo tender. “There are some outsiders who are creating problems with the support of some local MLAs”, he said, adding that the fishermen want the tender not to make money, but to ensure the market’s upkeep and maintenance.
President of Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association Sydney Furtado failed to understand the inordinate delay in awarding the contract. “Because of the delay, the PDA is loosing Rs 3,500 per day. We feel something fishing in the entire affair”, he added.
