TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Will a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) branch finally become a reality in South Goa in 2013? Or, will citizens have to wait for yet another year to get the office in Margao?
These questions on the absence of a FDA office in Margao have once again come to the fore, as residents from the district are forced to travel to Panjim for all work relating to the Food and Drugs Administration.
What’s interesting to note is that the FDA branch in South Goa has not become a reality yet despite assurances and promises from successive governments. Instances are galore when citizens from the district have to travel all the way to Panjim to lodge a complaint over adulterated foods or when they find strangers in beverages and packaged products.
Incidentally, FDA Director Salim A Veljee, when contacted, said that the government has agreed in principle to set up a FDA branch in South Goa. “Our proposal for a FDA branch in Margao has been cleared by the government, but there are minor things which are in the process of getting cleared”, he said.
If Veljee is to be believed, an FDA office may become a reality in the next six months if the proposal receives the official nod.
Sources in the know said the FDA is also eyeing for office space in the District Collectorate building once the Collectorate is shifted to the new building by May.
Besides office, it is learnt that the FDA has asked for administrative staff to meet the situation once the district office becomes a reality.
In the absence of a full-fledged district office, FDA’s continuous inspection of eateries and other eating joints in Margao and down south is badly hit with the both the Health Department and the Margao Municipal Council passing the buck on the FDA for the situation.
