File photo of CM Pramod Sawant inspecting the site with MLA Anton Vas in 2023.
VASCO
The foundation stone was laid in 2013, crores were spent, and the chief minister himself visited in 2023, promising that the long-idle Zuarinagar Market Complex would be put to use within six months.
Three years later, the market remains unoccupied, its intended purpose unfulfilled and its future uncertain.
The complex was conceived to provide organised facilities for local vendors and promote structured development in an area that needed better public infrastructure.
In July 2023, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant inspected the complex along with Cortalim MLA Anton Vas, Goa Rehabilitation Board (GRB) Chairman and MLA Rajesh Phaldessai, and other officials. The visit was intended to revive projects that had remained idle despite substantial expenditure.
The chief minister admitted it was unfortunate that infrastructure built over several years had remained unused. He explained that the complex had come under the GRB and had been nearly completed around six years earlier. However, differences involving the Rehabilitation Board, Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) and elected representatives had contributed to the building remaining idle.
Sawant assured residents that a proper plan would be worked out to make the infrastructure available for public benefit and promised that the project would be put to use within six months.
For local residents, the issue goes beyond an abandoned structure. The complex was intended to provide vendors with proper facilities and create an organised space for commercial activity. Its continued non-functioning has deprived the intended beneficiaries of the planned infrastructure.
Residents have also alleged that the deserted structure has become a place for anti-social elements, raising concerns about public safety, possible misuse and deterioration.
The Congress has repeatedly raised the issue, demanding that the government explain why the market remains non-functional despite years of promises and the chief minister’s personal inspection.
Addressing the media at the site, then Goa Youth Congress working president Mahesh Nadar had demanded a clear timeline for completing the project and making it operational.
Nadar recalled that the market was the vision of then Cortalim MLA late Matanhy Saldanha, who wanted proper facilities for vendors in Zuarinagar.
The foundation stone was laid by former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar in 2013, while then MLA Alina Saldanha subsequently took up efforts to push the project forward. However, work came to a standstill in 2016, leaving the building unused for years, Nadar had said.
The chief minister’s visit in July 2023 and his six-month assurance had raised hopes of progress. However, the market remains non-functional, leaving its original purpose unfulfilled.
The government’s silence on the project’s status, reasons for the delay and steps proposed to make it operational has deepened public frustration. Locals and vendors want authorities to clarify what remains to be done, who is responsible and when the facility will finally open.
Three years after the chief minister’s inspection, residents are still asking: if the government promised to open the market within six months, why are they still waiting?
