THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the past 31-years, the footpath in front of the party office at Ambalamukku has been a space for Gerry Revi to earn a livelihood. Every morning, she comes along with other fish vendors in an autorickshaw after buying fish worth Rs 20,000 from Shankhumukham. Life has been unkind to the 76-year-old ever since her husband passed away a few years ago. She is childless. “There is no one to look after me, I stay with a relative and this is my only means of livelihood. I cannot leave this space,” sobbed Gerry.
Fish stocks were seized from the vendors at Ambalamukku on Monday and Tuesday by the health inspectors of the city corporation for encroaching on the footpath. Soon after the incident, the vendors protested in front of the corporation office.
“We will continue to sell fish on the footpath till the corporation provides us with another facility,” said Gerry, on behalf of her fellow vendors Girly John, Ammini Nelson and Shanthi Mercier. “The party office site was like a forest when I began selling fish here. Even after the office came up, we were not stopped from selling fish,” she said.
Gerry and her fellow vendors lost their stocks worth Rs 70,000 in total. “We spend around Rs 1,000 to come here daily. We have been taking loans to buy fish auctioned at the beach. Now, we’ve lost a huge amount despite selling good quality fish. We demand compensation,” said Girly.
“The corporation will continue to send notices to the vendors who have encroached on the footpaths. Action will be taken if the vendors refuse to comply with the order,” said Mitran G, health inspector, Sasthamangalam circle.
Raids to continue
In the wake of 1,122 kilograms of stale fish recently seized from the various markets in the district, the city corporation plans to continue the raids. “Two raids will be held every month under each health circle in the corporation. This includes the check for stale fish, ammonium and formalin content in fish and ice,” said Mitran.
The Palayam fish market, one of the busiest fish markets in the city, continues to have a decent sale despite raids. According to Saji Sajan, a vendor, no fish were seized from the regular vendors. Fish brought from outside markets for sale were seized by corporation officials during the raid. “We are not provided with any technology or testing kits to detect adulterated fish; we are only advised to choose good fish for sale by manual sorting,” said Sajan.
Leela arrives with her basket of fish by 5.30am everyday. “I only sell fresh fish brought from Shankhumukham and Kollam ports,” she said. The fish which were kept for salt drying were seized by the squad claiming they were stale.The fish vendors claim they ensure that they sell the stocks the same day. “I manage to sell all fish I bring each day. I buy mackerels and sardines from Poonthura to sell here.
Unsold fish are taken back home,” said Jacintha, who has been selling fish here for several years. According to her, she gets a small profit from her business which covers her daily food and travel expenses. “When it is a small amount of fish for sale, it is easier to complete a day’s business with no room for the fish to rot and get contaminated,” she said.
(With inputs from Vandhana Varghese)