MARGAO: Stern intervention by Deputy Superintendent of Police Raju Raut Desai diffused the spat between some trawler owners that threatened to derail the entire fishing season on the first day itself.
The Cutband Boat Owners Development Union/Society that is maintaining the Cutbona jetty had allotted places to 12 agents registered with them for more than 15 years and the agents were supposed to participate in the auction conducted by the Society and accordingly unload fish from vessels.
However, an unregistered agent by name BSF overnight wrote its name on the jetty at a place allotted to the normal trawlers and a big trawler fishing with purseine net docked there and the fish was being unloaded.
Apparently Sebastiao Cardiosio and a few others were not in favour of what the Society was doing and had got their own agent from Karwar BSF to bid for the fish caught by their trawlers. However, the Society objected to the unregistered agent operating at the jetty.
Trouble broke out as the security officials appointed by the Society were reportedly threatened and the gate was opened to bring in the trucks for loading fish. A heated discussion took place between Sebastiao’s father-in-law Cruz and Cutband Boat Owners Development Union/Society President Savio D’Silva.
The society members who gathered shortly marched to the dock no 3 where the loading was going on and forced the truck to be taken away from there and asked a registered agent to unload his catch and he immediately called for his truck and began the operation.
DySP Desai rushed to the place and held a meeting with the disputing parties, where the Society insisted that the agents had to be registered so that they do not dupe any owner tomorrow by fleeing with the catch without making the payment. “That is why at the time of registering we ask some other registered agent to stand guarantee for the new applicant,” Savio said.
Sebastiao on the other hand argued that such a system was never followed before and that none of the agents had produced any surety.
As the discussion proceeded he agreed to stand guarantee to the agent.
Finally it was decided that BSF would formally apply to be a registered agent and the Society will decide on the application within a week during which time Sebastiao would also give an undertaking to stand guarantee to the agent to the tune of Rs 25 lakh.
While Sebastiao’s father-in-law was permitted to complete the loading of his catch which was interrupted, Sebastiao also agreed to keep BSF away from the jetty till the matter was resolved by next week.
