Maharashtra fisheries department has planned a world-class fish market at Sewri on a 5-acre land owned by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), after receiving a positive response from the central government on the handing over of the plot from the port department. The ₹100-crore air-conditioned project will be developed on the lines of the fish market in Dubai, and will have cold storage, retail counters, stalls for fisherfolk, venders, ready-to-cook, marinated fish counters with over 100 varieties of fish. The draft plan also has parking facilities for over 500 two and four wheelers.
“This would be something completely different from the existing fish markets in the city. We requested the fisheries department to coordinate with ministry of ports for the transfer of the land to us. Their response has been very positive. Once the allotment happens, the actual construction can begin,” said an official from the state fisheries department.
He further informed that “it would be a state-of-the-art market on the lines of Deira Fish Market in Dubai. Once the land allotment is done, a team of officers will visit the Dubai fish market to get a first-hand idea. The capital sharing between the central and state governments would be in 60:40 ratio for the project.”
Ram Naik, former governor and former MP, who heads the committee appointed to chalk out a fisheries policy for the state said, “It is one of two such projects allocated by the central government. Mumbai and Bengaluru have been chosen for such world-class markets. We expect the project to start very soon,” he said. He also said that for the first time, the state is coming up with a fisheries development policy and the air-conditioned market at Sewri is one of the many ambitious projects to be undertaken under it.
Another officer from the department said that untidy and stinking fish markets are a major complaint of consumers, as these conditions keep consumers away. “The proposed market will be clean and neat, with utmost care taken for hygiene. This will bring a paradigm shift in the fish business in the state.” The state’s fish production is currently at 1.43 lakh tonne, which is much lower than the production in states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.