VASCO
The Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) on Tuesday evening seized materials from two shops at Baina, sparking off protests from the shop owners.
The area in Baina witnessed tense moments throughout the day after MMC demolition squad arrived at the site to demolish two shops in Baina but had to return after a large number of people gathered at the site in support of the stall owners and demanded to see the MMC’s demolition order.
Later in the evening, a team from the MMC seized goods from two stalls at Baina under police protection and workers were seen loading the items and carrying these away in MMC vehicles.
While the shop owners alleged the move was politically motivated as only two shops were targetted despite being many shops in the vicinity, the MMC maintained that the owners had licences to operate stationary carts which had been converted into shops, forcing the MMC to take action.
Amid the chaos, Vasco PI Nilesh Rane tackled the matter and told the stall owners that only materials were to be seized and there would be no demolition of structures.
A shopkeeper, Santosh Bind, said his shop had been existing since his father’s time.
“Someone had filed a complaint but surprisingly the complainant never came for a series of personal hearings by the MMC and finally we approached the DMA for justice.”
“An order was passed by DMA against us on August 20, but a copy of the order was issued to me on October 19 giving me 15 days time. Since then, I have been going to MMC several times but no one is entertaining us and simultaneously action is also being initiated,” said Bind.
Another shopkeeper challenged the MMC to take a demolition drive across Vasco to demolish all illegal shops, instead of selecting only a few shops.
An MMC official claimed that the order to seize materials and goods from the shop was taken while following all rules.
“We have seen that there are no handcarts but these have been converted into full-fledged shops with laterite stones. We have not sealed or demolished these shops,” said an official.
