MAPUSA
Raising apprehensions against hygiene and health hazard created by vendors and stall owners that set shop at the Bodgeshwar zatra, a concerned local has written to the authorities to initiate action against such illegal activities.
In a complaint addressed to the Deputy Collector, Mapusa Municipal Council, its chief officer and other department officials, Shrikant Navelkar of Canca said that the vendors and stall owners create nuisance at the zatra site by defecating and bathing in the open.
“Several business activities like giant wheel and other food selling stalls are erected around the Bodgeshwar Temple during the zatra. A number of employees of these stall owners litter, defecate and take bath in the open, thus creating nuisance in the area,” said Navelkar.
He also pointed out that the littering and defecation in the open becomes an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies, which subsequently sit on food items that people consume.
The complainant further said that garbage generated from the stalls lead to an unhygienic condition thereby becoming a health hazard.
The sweet and khaja stalls erect big chullas in the agriculture fields, and after the zatra they leave the chullahs behind, inconveniencing the cultivators, he said.
Plastics, broken beer bottles and other stuff are also strewn in the field which creates problem to the farmers, he said further.
Further, most of the vendors and stall owners carry out business activity at the zatra without proper approval/NOC from appropriate authorities like FDA, fire & emergency services, health department, pollution control board, MMC, etc, he said.
Since most of the businesses at the zatra are illegal, they are playing with the health of the locals and devotees, and therefore the authorities concerned should take action on such illegal stall owners, the complainant said.
