Goa Forward supremo, MLA and Cabinet Minister Vijay Sardesai is ready, set and going full speed to change the history of the wholesale fish markets in South Goa. He appeared to be successful with the fish market in Margao until the latest report: vegetables are also sold at the SGPDA!
The operative word is organization. It appears there is no problem and lack of space for retailer fish venders to fish in trouble waters by selling their fish in a wholesale market, including vegetable venders. Tell me, since when are vegetables the same as fish? Why has this been going on for so long is nothing less than a mystery wrapped in a paradox. Or maybe the explanation is simple? We Goans are allergic to organization, and lack discipline in a majority of situations. While for too long Goans have been muddling along, it is not possible to continue in this way any longer because of logistics, be it inside the wholesale market or outside on the road where the issue might be to helmet or not to helmet, among others. Goa has changed but have Goans changed? A recent newspaper report informs us how Canacona farmers are selling their organically grown fruit and vegetables on the roadside, putting their lives, as well as consumers, at risk. A bumper crop, we're told, and no market to sell their fruit and vegetables? Unbelievable, but then this is Goa! Everybody is doing their own thing. Where is the community spirit? Any success in promoting Goemkarponn needs to be imbued with a sense of cooperation. Otherwise, it is doomed to failure. The Forest Department claims the farmers have encroached on forest land. If so, has the Forest Department been hibernating all this time? Lack of doing one's job properly creates a weak link in the chain of organization, and compounds any problem further. When in trouble, pass the buck, and the consumer can go to hell. Goans import everything today. What doesn't come from outside the State? Even our two iconic food staples, coconut and fish are imported from other states! That coconut prices are going through the roof is known to everyone. That Vijay Sardesai wants to buy coconuts directly from growers is good thinking, and going beyond development! Vijay Sardesai has spoken grandly of 'liberating' the wholesale market from retailers before Liberation Day which is December 22. If he can pull it off he deserves our greatest admiration for overcoming a major hurdle as unruliness is a part of the Goan DNA. If he fails, he might have to be 'liberated'.