150 kg of rotten fish seized from Palayam Market

Most of the fish was cut and had been stored for days; some were even months old

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Almost 150 kg of rotten fish was seized from Connemara market in Palayam on Monday morning. The fish was seized after a raid by a combined team of officers from the health department of the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation, fisheries department and civil supplies department, following complaints from the public. Fisheries department officials identified rotten fishes after testing them using the strip which detects the quality of the fish.

Tuna and Seer formed a major chunk of the fishes seized. Most of the fish was cut and had been stored for days. Some were even months old, according to the officials who raided the market. The seized fish was immediately disposed off by the authorities.“It is the corporation’s responsibility to ensure that the food supplied is good. A squad will inspect all such places in the city and take necessary action, “ said V K Prasanth, Mayor. 

Protest
The raid sparked protest in the market as people alleged that the fish confiscated included good fish too. Palayam police helped control the situation. “Mixing bad fish with good ones is their marketing tactic. We cannot separate good fish from bad fish when they are all in the same basket covered with worms.

In the coming days also, we will continue with the policy without any leniency,” said a corporation official who was part of the raid. Other vendors also joined in on the protest alleging that such a raid in the market and publicising it will affect the sales of other vendors in the market.

Unavailability of kits
However, the lack of enough testing kits is hindering the raids. “Earlier this month many raids were conducted at various markets but the limitation caused by the unavailability of the test kits to check the quality of the fish has hindered the process. We were only able to dispose the fish that seemed damaged to us on physical inspection,” said an official.

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