The fish market at Chaudi, Canacona, is bearing the brunt of administrative neglect. The premises has not been cleaned for nearly eight months now, due to which it is in an unhygienic condition, say vendors and buyers. Fisherwomen who operated from the premises have complained of a maggot infestation, making the market unfit to be occupied. As a result, they say, they are compelled to sell fish in the open space outside. Some have also resorted to selling fish on NH-66 at Nagorcem, Ponsulem and Sheller. The space restriction in turn leads to chaotic movement of shoppers and vehicles. ‘The place is infested with maggots. How can one even sit on these platforms inside the fish market?” one fisherwoman said, pointing to the maggots crawling on the platforms.
Earlier, braving the situation, some fisherwomen tried selling fish from inside the market. However, buyers refused to enter the premises and resorted to buying fish from the vendors sitting outside. “The atmosphere is pathetic and unhygienic in and around the fish market,” one buyer said.
While the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown has played its part in the sorry tale of neglect, Canacona municipality councillor Dhiraj Naik Gaonkar blamed it on the non-functioning of the civic body. Further, he said that the planned razing of the current premises for the proposed new fish market building, doesn’t seem like a reasonable excuse for not cleaning the existing premises.
Meanwhile, the civic body’s chairperson, Simon Rebello, said that the staff concerned have been directed to clean the fish market and maintain it. The proposed new fish market will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 3.6 crore and will be able to accommodate nearly 200 fish vendors. Administrative approval has already been granted for the state-of-the-art project and the existing premises will be demolished to accommodate the new one.