Beirut Governor Orders Karantina Fish Market Shut

The Governor of Beirut ordered on Thursday the closure of the fish market in Karantina for not meeting health standards, three months after he gave similar instructions to shut the slaughterhouse in the same area for renovations, which prompted angry vendors to block the vital road outside the facility.

Governor Ziad Shebib visited the market and gave the fish traders until Friday to sell their catch.

But the traders objected, telling reporters who accompanied Shebib in his inspection that the decision would leave them jobless.

“We have hundreds of customers and the fish is fresh,” said one of them.

“We should have been given at least a one-month notice,” he added.

Later on Thursday, the vendors blocked the Port road in protest, which caused a severe traffic jam on the Karantina highway and the nearby roads that lead to Mathaf and Ashrafieh.

The road remained closed for around half an hour.

“How can you shut down the market without taking samples from our shops? Are we in a school and a decision was taken to close the classes?” an angry trader asked.

“Beirut's governor must protect us, we the sons of the capital, and if he can't let him resign immediately,” the vendors said, in remarks carried by the National News Agency.

The governor will keep the market shut until renovation work is done.

Shebib took a similar measure in November when he ordered the Karantina slaughterhouse shut after health ministry inspectors revealed bad safety and health conditions.

The abattoir is now under renovation.

The closure of the facilities came as part of a campaign launched by Health Minister Wael Abou Faour in October to press for better health and food safety standards.

G.K./Y.R.