PANAJI
It’s that time of the year when chaos descends in the periphery of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) due to its dubious record in alloting stalls along the River Mandovi promenade for the Janasthami fair. This year was no different.
Hundreds thronged the footpaths of the CCP and the surrounding buildings. unsure of the schedule of application forms availability or the process for the stall allocation.
On Monday, the police had to intervene to force the crowd to disperse as it was revealed that the CCP will begin handing out one form per person only from Tuesday.
Janasthami is on Thursday and those aspiring to take up stalls are furious over the delay.
CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate however said, the process including disbursing the forms will commence only on Tuesday, and will be monitored by the Commissioner Clen Madeira and the CCP’s taxation officer.
Monserrate said, the rates for the stalls have also been increased this year as the CCP has to bear the brunt of clearing out large amounts of solid waste after the fair.
Several of the aspiring vendors who had been coming to the CCP since last Friday for enquiries about the fair and stall allocation procedures, said they were hoping that this year the CCP authorities would get their act together after their experience in previous years.
“The chaos however seems to have repeated this year too. They (CCP) wait for the eleventh hour to start the allocation process,” one vendor lamented.
