In a recent incident, a fish-laden bolero van met with a fatal accident on National Highway 17 near the office of Circle Officer of Chapar in Assam's Dhubri.
The van which was carrying over six quintals of Chalani fish, was traveling from Bengal towards Assam’s Goalpara when one of its wheels came off, causing the vehicle to topple over.
Fortunately, the driver and the handyman of the van managed to escape the accident with minor injuries, but the former's life was saved by mere inches. However, the accident resulted in an upstream of fish along the national highway, causing a temporary blockage in the area.
Despite the dangers associated with external import of fish, it continues to take place in the state.
On April 28, the fisheries department of Assam asked four institutes in the state to conduct an in-depth research & inquiry about the presence of formalin in imported (chalani) fishes.
This was directed by the Fisheries Minister Parimal Suklabaidya in light of the new development.
Earlier, the state fishery department had said it does not have adequate facilities to conduct preliminary testing to detect formalin in imported fish.
For this reason, the said department has not yet conducted formalin testing on imported fish in Guwahati city, a source said.
