Pakistani fisherman becomes millionaire overnight after selling rare fish
Karachi (PTI): A fisherman in Pakistan's Karachi city became a millionaire overnight after auctioning a haul of rare fish which has many medicinal properties.
Haji Baloch, who lives in the impoverished Ibrahim Hyderi fishing village, and his workers caught the fish known as golden fish or "Sowa" in the local dialect from the Arabian Sea on Monday.
"The entire catch was sold for some 70 million rupees at the Karachi harbour on Friday morning when fishermen auctioned off their catch," Mubarak Khan of the Pakistan Fishermen Folk Forum said.
The Sowa fish is considered priceless and rare since substances from its belly are said to have great healing and medicinal properties. A thread-like substance from the fish is also used in surgical procedures.
"One fish fetches around 7 million rupees in the auction," Baloch said.
The fish, which often weighs between 20 to 40 kgs and can grow up to 1.5 meters, is much sought after in East Asian countries.
More importantly, the Sowa also holds cultural and traditional significance, finding its use in traditional medicines and local cuisine.
"We were fishing in the open sea of Karachi...when we came across this huge cache of golden fish, and it was a windfall for us," he said.
Haji said he would share the money with his crew of seven people.
The fish comes near the coast only during breeding season.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
