A joint meeting was held with Mapusa fish vendors along with chairman of the market committee Franky Carvalho and municipal inspector Tayo Gadekar to address the issue of cleanliness at the fish market on Thursday. Various directives were given to the vendors with a warning that if rules are not followed then strict action will be initiated against them. Taking cognisance of various complaints pertaining to unhygienic condition of the new fish market, wherein vendors are not maintaining cleanliness, spitting on walls and sitting on the floor due to which people face hardship while moving within the fish market.The chairman warned all fish vendors not to sit on the floor or else municipal staff will seize their fish. He also warned them over spitting on walls and said, We have asked the police to be present in civil clothes and book defaulters. Later the issue of storage of fish was raised by municipal inspector Tayo Gadekar. He said, Fish vendors stock their fish in the premises during the night despite having a cold storage facility. Ideally all fish vendors should stock their fish in the cold storage but this is not being followed.Carvalho warned the fish vendors if any stock is found lying in the fish market premises then the municipality will seize the same. He said it is not proper to store fish in the open but instead it must be kept in the cold storage so that the quality of fish is maintained for the next day. Replying to his query fish vendors said that for the past many years we have been storing fish in the premises by preserving the fish with ice. We have not received any complaints so far. A fish vendor said, Initially we used to stock our fish in the cold storage but next day the colour of the fish turns black and customers refuse to buy them. The cold storage facility offered by the contractor is very expensive and the same is being used to store meat etc. How can we keep our fish in the facility.Another fish vendor informed, Our truck comes at around 10 pm and that time the storage facility is not available, what should we do? Is it feasible for us to take all stock home and come back next day, he questioned.Chairman Carvalho assured the vendors that The cold storage contractor will be asked to offer reasonable rates to the fish vendors, but we cannot allow storing of fish in the premises.
2016 @GOACOM