Muzaffarnagar: A team of officials from the district food and civil supplies department, municipal corporation and the fisheries department launched an intensive crackdown on illegal fish markets of Muzaffarnagar district on Friday. As many as eight shops were sealed during the drive after owners failed to produce mandatory licenses from the fisheries department and mandatory no objection certificates (NOC) from the municipal corporation office. Authorities claimed that the raids will be intensified further to identify and book other defaulters.R K Srivastava, assistant director of the fisheries department, said, “Notices had been sent to offenders several times over the past few weeks to produce necessary documents. But not one person had submitted these. The owners have also been selling magur fish (African catfish) in spite of a ban on its sale and breeding in the country.”Several illegal shops were demolished during the crackdown and around 300 kg of magur fish were seized by the officials. Vinit Kumar, official at the food and civil supplies department, said, “It was a combined operation of the food and civil supplies department, the municipal corporation and the fisheries department. Challans have been issued to all offenders who have been running their businesses illegally.”A local resident, who did not wish to be named, said, “The area surrounding fish markets are filthy as shopkeepers throw wastes in the open.”

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