MAPUSA
Take it easy seems to be the mantra of the Mapusa Municipal Council as the new meat complex which was inaugurated more than two months ago is still not open for business.
The beef and pork building was unveiled on Aug 14 this year but since then it has remained unused and the local civic officials are clueless over the delay in opening the complex.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, the new building complex comprises of 14 stalls which will be equally divided amongst those involved in beef and pork business.
The beef and pork vendors, who were shifted to a makeshift structure a short distance away after the demolition of the old dilapidated meat complex to make way for the new project, are still operating from the temporary stalls.
“It is more than two months since the project was inaugurated. But nobody is considering the issue of opening the new building seriously,” a beef vendor said.
Sources informed that the Mapusa civic body which had made some changes in the building plan, mid-way, has failed to submit revised plans to the Planning and Development Authority (PDA) so as to obtain the completion certificate.
“When the complex was inaugurated we had high hopes that we would shift to the new premises and carry on with our business with better facilities. But the delay to handover the stalls is only creating problems for us and the people,” another vendor said.
The General Secretary of Quraishi Meat Traders Association, Anwar Bepari informed that he recently raised the issue with the civic authorities about the delay in starting business in the new complex and they have assured to handover the stalls to the traders at the earliest.
“The Mapusa municipality is supposed to complete some formalities which are expected to be completed very soon. They have assured to handover the stalls to the traders within a few days,” Bepari said.
Chairperson of Mapusa Municipal Council, Shubhangi Vaigankar said the issue got stuck due to some technical conditions which the civic body had to complete.
“We have now completed all the formalities. We need to make some payment to the planning body which will be done in a couple of days,” Vaigankar told this newspaper.
Incidentally, opposition councillor, Shashank Narvekar picked holes in the planning of the complex and termed the new beef and pork complex as an ill-planned project.
He said the complex was nothing but sub-standard reconstruction of old stalls without any foresight and waste of taxpayers’ money.
