SGPDA slaps notice on wholesale fish association for several violations
Wholesale traders cornered on maintaining no social distancing or use of sanitisers; Entry of trucks above the permissible number and collection of amounts from contractors
Team Herald
MARGAO: The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the Wholesale Fish Traders Association for various reasons including the reason for not maintaining social distancing.
The SGPDA in their show cause notice said that there is violation/breach of rules as the members of the association who are the fish sellers have failed to maintain social distancing in the wholesale fish market at Madel during the sales activities.
The majority of wholesale traders are outstation fishermen who bring fish from the Southern States by truck and train. The locals have been complaining that these powerful wholesalers act as if they are a law onto themselves.
The SGPDA also alleged that there is no provision for use of sanitisers and consequently none of the members of the Margao Wholesale Fish Market Association are using sanitisers.
The SGPDA also claims that they had restricted the entry of the vehicles to 25 but more vehicles than the said permits are being brought into the Margao Wholesale Fish Market, at Madel.
The SGPDA alleges that amounts are being collected by the Margao Wholesale Fish Market Association (contractors) from the vehicles brought into the Margao Wholesale Fish Market at Madel on a day-to-day basis and receipts are issued by the association.
After much ado, a court case, several meetings with the District Administration and a number of press statements, the only and the largest fish wholesale market of Goa had opened in the end weeks of the month of July. There has been utter chaos at the market all the time between 4 am and 10 am.
To add fuel to the fire, there has been a constant tug of war between the SGPDA and wholesalers and the state of the market has deteriorated.
