Qatar partially lifts ban on frozen seafood from India
Kolkata, Feb 17: Qatar partially lifted a ban imposed last year on the import of frozen seafood from India, the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) said on Friday.
Restrictions will continue on the export of chilled seafood which constitutes nearly one-third of total seafood exports to the West Asian country worth Rs 143 crore in 2021-22.
Frozen seafood is stored at minus 20 degrees whereas the storing temperature of chilled seafood is 3-4 c.
The ban was imposed in November last year, just ahead of the FIFA World Cup there, following the alleged detection of Vibrio cholerea a bacteria that causes cholera infection - from a few consignments from India, MPEDA officials said.
The Qatari authorities had informed India that the ban was temporary owing to a lack of sufficient testing laboratories in their country in the run-up to the football event.
"This week is proving to be very good for the seafood exporters in India, considering a similar lift in the suspension by China. We hope that the restrictions by Qatar on the chilled seafood will also be cleared soon after a reassessment of the situation," MPEDA Chairman DV Swami said.
Swami is in Kolkata for the India International Seafood Show held in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India. Friday was the last day of the event.
The Department of Commerce along with the embassy of India in Qatar held a series of discussions with Qatar's Ministry of Public Health, leading to the issuance of a notification on Thursday lifting the ban partially.
In the current fiscal as per provisional figures, seafood exports to the West Asian country were worth nearly Rs 90 crore dominated by shrimps.
China has also lifted the suspension of shipments from 99 Indian seafood processing and exporting units, following which seafood exports are expected to cross USD 8 billion in the current fiscal.
In 2021-22, total seafood exports from India were valued at USD 7.76 billion.
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Man killed in flat ceiling plaster crash, wife and son hurt
Thane (PTI): A 45-year-old man was killed, and his wife and son were injured when a portion of plaster from the ceiling collapsed in their flat in a seven-storey building in Thane on Saturday, officials said.
Chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell, Yasin Tadvi, said the 16-year-old building is not listed in the "dangerous" category.
"The incident occurred in Karumdev Society at about 3 am. The plaster of the hall in a flat on the terrace floor suddenly fell while the occupants were asleep", he said.
Of the four people who were inside the room, two suffered minor injuries and were discharged after primary treatment, Tadvi stated.
The injured persons were identified as Arpita More (42), who suffered minor head injuries, and her son Arush More (16), who sustained injuries to both legs.
Manoj More (45), who sustained chest injuries, died during treatment at a private hospital.
