Consumers’ body impresses DC and Fishery Officer to regulate fish prices
SILCHAR, Aug 3: Peeved at the unprecedented hike in prices of fish in the town, the members and supporters of Grahak Suraksha Samiti today laid siege of the district fishery officer and impressed upon him to take urgent steps in this regard.
The activists of the consumers’ body questioned the logic and reason behind the abnormal hike in the prices of fishes, which have a sharp increase of 50 per cent in comparision to last season. They expressed their resentments at the indifferent rates of the fishes in different markets under Silchar municipal area.
However, district fishery officer Gopal Chandra Bhowmik told the agitators that his department only deals with the quality production of fishes and has no power to regulate the steep increase in fish prices.
“Our duty is to train the fishermen about how to produce quality and healthy fishes and to encourage them to pursue scientific procedures in fish farming. We can only appeal to fish–vendors not to hike the prices. Our power has limitation,” said district fishery officer.
On being asked about the trend of production, Bhowmik said that flow of fish production in this session was not that much satisfactory and it could be one of the reasons behind the hike. He was of the opinion that due to insufficient rain in this monsoon, the ponds and other water pools went dry, resulting less production in the fishes.
About the allegation of the members of GSS that rates of fishes are being charged in whimsical and indifferent manners in different markets of the town, he said that if it is true then this should be dealt with strong hand and law breakers should be booked. He said that he would discuss this matter with the Deputy Commissioner. On being pressurized by the activists to give some firm assurances on the future course of action, the district fishery officer had talked to the Deputy Commissioner over telephone who directed him to form a committee including the representatives from Silchar Municipal Board to launch a campaign to regulate the price hike of fishes.
A delegation of GSS later met the Deputy Commissioner, GM Hazarika, and sought his intervention in this regard. They requested the DC to publish the wholesale rates of the fishes in daily newspapers through the DIPRO so that consumers could understand if they are charged more by the fish–sellers. Meanwhile, he agreed to the demand of the GSS and said that from next week the wholesale rates of fishes will be published in the local dailies.
The sheer hike in the prices of different types of fish has created a sense of anguish and disappointment among all the sections of people of this town. The fish is considered as one of the essential items of Bengalis’ lunch and dinner and this price rise has naturally left a bitter taste among the people living in this Bengali dominated town.
Biplab Kumar Goswami, general secretary of the GSS, termed the unprecedented increase in fish prices as ‘completely unjustified’. He pointed out that there is an indiscriminate rise in the prices of the different types of fishes which has created trouble for the consumers. Goswami was of the view that if the price hike was not regulated immediately by the authorities concerned, the fish prices will continue to shoot up.
Source: The Sentinel 04.08.2013
