Team Herald
MARGAO: Wholesale Fish Market Association President Maulana Ibrahim on Tuesday urged the government to direct the Fisheries Department to intervene and solve the SGPDA wholesale fish market issue once and for all.
The stoppage of fish import into State is going to impact dearly. People have already started witnessing it. Fish markets in Ponda, Mapusa, Bicholim, Valpoi, Savordem along with the Margao wholesale fish market remained closed on Tuesday.
The 40-45 trucks which used to enter Goa with fish won’t be coming. Most consumers had to return disappointed, on Tuesday. The State mainly depends on the fish imports from the neighbouring States as the local catch is not sufficient. Recently, the import was ban due to nationwide COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Due to short supply of fish, the consumers had to purchase Mackerel at Rs
400 per kg while lepo at Rs 300 per kg, which is an unprecedented rise in price, for the common man.
The traders are of the opinion that they don’t want to continue selling fish by hiding and warned that the fish scarcity will see the rise in prices of chicken and mutton in State.
When asked when the moratorium on import of fish will end, Ibrahim informed, “We are tired of selling fish by hiding, taking the beating of police and getting humiliated. For the betterment of the people of Goa we need to have the SGPDA market open to provide cheap and quality fish to the Goan consumers.”
“The absence of fish is going to obviously increase the prices of chicken and mutton. There is a need for the government or the Fisheries Department to intervene and put an end to the matter once and for all so that the people ultimately don’t suffer,” he added.
“The traders have reiterated their request to open the wholesale fish market. Already, so many are jobless and with limited money in hand due to the lockdown and in addition to that if the prices of fish and other essential food items skyrocket the people will suffer for their meals,” Ibrahim said.
