Formalin in fish doesn’t worry this village

While Goa was affected with the discovery that fish imports were being laced with formalin, with many Goans having to forsake their staple food, the village of Cundaim in Ponda taluka seems to unperturbed by the events.That’s because villagers of Cundaim rely on the catch obtained from their own water bodies that thrive with fish and prawn. For perspective, the length of the Zuari river that flows through the village is 5km. In addition, Cundaim also has four ‘manos’ (sluice gates) of khazan lands, which are agriculture lands subject to inundation by the neighbouring river.“Our village is self-sufficient. We have fish such as ‘Bangdo’ (Mackerel), ‘Kalundar’ (Pearl Spot) and shellfish like ‘Kurli’ (Crab). By its taste and quality, Cundaim’s ‘sungta’ (prawn) are the best in Goa,” say Sanchita Sandeep Parwar and Sarvesh Gaude, residents of Gurvas Wada and Manas Wada, respectively.At a time when agriculture is dying in many villages of Goa, 70% of the land in Cundaim is under cultivation. According to statistics provided by villagers, Cundaim covers an area of 776 hectares, of which, 541 hectares is under cultivation.But Cundaim’s residents are also well aware that agriculture will die out if the younger generation does not take it forward. Says Vishwas Bablo Phadte of Tale Wada, “The government should make agriculture schemes more appealing and lucrative.”The village has 400 farmers and is home to four farming societies such as Chickal Pain, Zwain Kator, Sasur Pain and Nalla Kator.Traditionally, Cundaim, also spelt as Kundaim, has its own gaunkari/village comunidade. The panchayat system, introduced by the Indian administration after 1963, saw the village being divided into seven panchayat wards. But, the traditional village wards are Manas Wada, Pursha Bhat, Gurvas Wada, Dassol Wada, Dharjo Wada, Wadi, Mauzo Wada, Satarkar Wada and Tale Wada.