Govt shelves Agriculture Mall project for Goa’s biggest vegetable wholesale market
What isthe life of a construction? If it’s a government construction it’s only 28years!
TheMapusa market sub yard which was built 28 years ago has developed huge cracksand has been declared unsafe.
A newlyelected market committee has declared the sub yard building unsafe and urged thevendors to vacate from the building.
Huge concretepieces of the ceiling have started peeling off causing threat to life oftraders and the customers who visit the sub yard. Mapusa sub yard is the biggestmarket yard in the state, where over 130 traders including vegetable tradersand fruit vendors carry out business.
The GoaState Agriculture Marketing Board responsible for maintenance of the buildingpaid scant attention to the welfare of the structure.
The foundationof the sub yard building was laid on March 26, 1982 and it was thrown open topublic on June 6, 1984.
Narratinghis side of the story, Gajanand Palyekar, a vendor said: “Initially we wereinvited to the market to do business. Earlier we were given relaxation in termsof rent but now things have turned bad. Since the inauguration of the structureno repair or renovation works were undertaken. Committees come and go but nodecisions are taken.”
“Even though we pay taxes in terms of cess, garbagetax and rent to the board, officials fail to take elementary maintenance works,”said Shyamsundar Gawas another trader. Market committees have not done anythingfor the sub yard. Shops are leaking and pieces of ceiling are falling off. Eventhe main gate at the entrance may collapse anytime, Gawas added.
“We arearound 32 fruit vendors sitting in the building. The board has informed usabout the unsafe building but hasn’t provided us an alternative place to shift.We won’t move out,” Gawas warned. He said that none of the vendors will vacatetheir places unless they are given alternate places and assurances of shiftingthem back in the building.
An agri-mallproject was proposed by previous government, which was a brainchild of Mohan Amshekar,the former chairman of the Goa Agriculture and Marketing Board. The agri mallwas proposed to be built on Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode.
Afterchange in government a new committee under the chairmanship of Ulhas Asnodkar wasformed. “We are working on a master plan for Mapusa yard market. Agri-mallproject has been scrapped. We intend to take up the same project with our funds,”Asnodkar said.
