Locals cite sanitation lapses, safety risks and riverfront nuisance
It may have been derided as an 'eyesore' by some, a sanitation nightmare by others and a veritable nightmare for motorists but for the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), the Asthami fair has become a cash cow.
The capital city's civic body has raked in a record Rs 1.2 crore in rents and services from vendors who leased stalls at the three-week fair which coincided with the Ganesh Chathurti festival.
A top CCP official said some more revenue may be realised from the stall owners who spilled over beyond the fair's deadline seeking time to clear out.
In earlier years, the fair used to be located alongside the Bal Bhavan road and the erstwhile Parade Ground.
Over the last few years, it has come to be located along the Mandovi riverfront stretching from the Panaji ferry wharf to the Kala Academy.
This year, 400 stalls were sold out and the CCP charged each of them an aggregate of approximately Rs 26,500 but the consensus among the vendors we spoke to was that profits for them were much thinner.
The vendors blamed the incessant rains which they said saw footfalls and business in general dropping.
The fair this year, however, did not pass off without any untoward incidents.
It also earned the ire of many local residents who say it smears the city's riverine aesthetics and also gives rise to chaos and sanitation problems, alleging that many of the vendors and their workers ease themselves in the open along the river's banks creating a nuisance.
Only two toilet facilities were provided which were insufficient to cater to the needs of hundreds of vendors and their workers.
Also in the first week itself the fair was hit by a major accident when a private bus whose driver lost control rammed into a set of stalls opposite the ESG complex, injuring three persons and crushing a nearby parked motorcycle.
Last year the CCP had netted in over Rs one-crore beating the record of the Mormugao Municipal Council's revenue figures for the famous Saptah fair in the port town and has scored an encore.
