Team Herald
MARGAO: Will the impossible happen at the SGPDA wholesale market as it opens today (Wednesday). If claims are to be believed, the SGPDA will also be building a place near the gate where the Quality Council of India (QCI) officials will test fish before the concerned people and traders. The existing office of the QCI at the SGPDA wholesale fish market complex will also be available.
All eyes will be on claimed formalin testing, as fish trucks of outsider fish traders enter the market. Earlier, the SGPDA had said that no fish will be allowed inside the market yard without testing. They got outnumbered by the size of the business and the crowd that gather. Then the Authority had placed their own men to oversee the operations. However, there has been no success as 5 or 10 staff aren’t able to handle the over five thousand people and traders, retailers and fishermen, who come to the market.
Chairman Wilfred D’Sa said, “The SGPDA will build facility at the main gate to ensure no fish is sold without testing.”
In short, formalin testing so far has been a farce. Ground reports state that trucks of wholesale traders, many of them big times ones, moved inside the market and started sales with either cursory or non-existent testing.
Besides formalin, the other plaguing issue is social distancing. The people have been urged to maintain social distancing and wear masks and sanitise their hands as compulsory measures.
SGPDA Chairman Wilfred D’Sa explained how difficult it is getting for them and the Administration to handle the crowd at the market.
“We have warned, used force as per the law to make sure the people maintain social distancing. But, sadly there is no success. Police have even resorted to chase away people but no success,” he said.
The SGPDA has decided to keep the fish cutters away as the market opens. They were the triggers to getting several positive cases among the people trading and working here. For the future planning, the SGPDA has build decks for the fish cutters for safe and secure operations.
Sanitisation of SGPDA Wholesale and Retail Market was done by Fire and Emergency Services, on Tuesday.
