Launching a scathing attack on the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in the state, Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) National Spokesperson Trajano D’Mello along with Goa TMC Joint Convenor Mariano Rodrigues in a press conference at the party’s office, alleged that food adulteration be it fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, sweets, etc. has been going unchecked for years and demanded established full fledge testing labs and centres for checking adulteration with nominal fees.
He also slammed the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government for not taking any action against the Health Minister and handling the FDA Department in the most incompetent manner.
Goa TMC Joint Convenor Mariano Rodrigues, referring to recent maggots found in the mid-day meal questioned, “Is this the way government takes care of our children? Is there no mechanism to check the meals prepared by the SHG?”
Coming down heavily on the FDA, D’Mello said, “FDA is a lame-duck organisation where corruption rules. Dedicated officers like Iva Fernandes do not want to take the risk of taking action as the Government does not stand up for its honest and committed servants. He further charged, “Corrupt officials prosper in Goa which has been seen over time, especially under the BJP government. So who will put their lives on the line with this revengeful government?”
Referring to the data shared by the State’s Health Minister in the last Assembly session in August 2023, D’Mello said the number of cancer cases in Goa has been on the rise in recent years. In 2021, there were 440 new cases of cancer detected in the state, and this number has increased to 843 in 2022, and 1,273 in 2023. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane made the figures public recently, stating that breast cancer cases in Goa have risen alarmingly as well. From 2020 to 2023, there were 699 new breast cancer cases and 135 new cases of uterus cancer.
Referring to the Formalin adulteration case in 2018 at the Margao Wholesale fish market, D’Mello alleged that FDA officer Iva Fernandes had to pay the price for exposing the formalin mafia. He added, “During this period, the FDA Minister was Vishwajeet Rane and the Director of FDA was Jyoti Sardessai, both still hold the same charge as on date. Ironically the Fatorda MLA in July 2023 charged that formalin laced fish is being sold at Margao wholesale fish market.”
D’Mello went on to question the Health Minister, “How many times has the inspection of fish been carried out stringently? It is common knowledge that bananas and other fruits are chemically ripened. One or two raids per year are undertaken to justify the FDA’s existence. The tests that are undertaken are suspicious, as there have been so many activists who exposed how testing is undertaken in a shady manner.”
Since the future is bleak for fish-loving Goans, TMC demands that the government must stop playing with the health of Goans and instead set up full-fledged food testing labs and testing centres in all the markets of the state, so that people can check adulteration with nominal fees.