Fish sale dips in Bhagalpur, Banka

BHAGALPUR: Reports of formalin content detected in fish samples has hugely affected the sale of fishes in local fish markets in districts like Banka and Bhagalpur.
Amidst price rise of vegetables, the presence of formaldehyde, which can cause diseases like cancer, in fishes sourced from Andhra Pradesh and marine water fishes has created panic among the consumers and hit the fish business.According to local market sources, sale and purchase of fishes brought from Andhra Pradesh and Kolkata have dropped to nearly 50%, whereas demand for local fish, mostly from fresh water rivers and ponds in the region, have gone up.
Several tonnes of fishes were imported from Andhra Pradesh to Berhampur everyday for sale. After fishes sourced from Andhra were banned in the state capital due to use of formalin chemical, the import of fishes from the neighbouring state to Bhagalpur started declining. Banka district fisheries officer (DFO) KK Sinha said, “We are making an effort to prevent consumption of fish either from Andhra Pradesh or any other place. We have geared up our machinery, though we have not received any specific directive for this region. There is a sharp prop in sale of fishes and as per our statistics it has come down by at least 40%.”
Bhagalpur deputy director (fisheries) Sanjay Kisku, could not be contacted for his version as he is out of town.
A fish trader Manish Kumar at Tilkamanjhi market said, “Over 100 sellers are engaged in fish trading in Bhagalpur. There is a huge drop in fish sales. People are only interest in buying local fresh fish.”