Fishy and dirty! But isn't it ought to be?

Food goes through a major facelift before it gets to the platter. Assuming that this post is being read by those who get to eat it in the usual way. This Sunday, I was in for a smelly and slightly disconcerting experience. I saw and felt the food that I so relish in its basic and raw form. Fish at the wholesale market of Gahazipur, located next one the largest open dump site in the National capital region. I have climbed this mountain of urban trash on three occasions, to showcase the way we deal with our garbage. People live on this mound of stench and toxics. I once stepped on the fossilized remains of a cow. Something has stayed with me long past these visits.

Anyways I am talking about my excursion to the fish market. The shelf life is very small and the storage facilities are limited so the disposal is high. The mound gets a lot of it. In fact, as you walk around, the chances are you would be standing on the pieces of fish. You most certainly will see carts full of discarded fish being taken away. I think the trade has enough money to support a little investment into the infrastructure, but the government has to at least create them. Not long back a news break made channel headlines on how discarded fish and chicken being recovered from the dump and sold to small time restaurants.

In this picture you can see a man recovering a jumpy catfish from the ground. At the bottom you can see a brown-pink lump that is head of a big fish.