MARGAO
The Purumentachem fest fair at the Old market, Margao continued on Sunday despite the High Court capping the fair to seven days, which expired on Saturday.
While it was business as usual at the Old market on Sunday morning, a team of Margao Municipal officials headed by Margao Municipal Engineer Deepak Dessai descended at fair on the MMC parking lot ground to stop the activity.
Incidentally, even as the MMC team tried to stop the fair at the parking lot, including barricading the entry points, the fair went on as usual at the adjoining SGDPA grounds. In fact, while the MMC team tried to physically stop customers from entering the fair at the MMC Parking lot, one could find customers heading to the SGPDA ground where the fair went on unhindered till late Sunday evening.
This has assumed significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that the High Court, in its 2015 Order had capped the number of fair days to seven. Given that Purumentachem fest fair had commenced on Sunday last, the seven day period expired on Saturday (yesterday), with activists terming the Sunday fair as a contempt of the High Court order.
As the seven day fair period expired on Saturday, all eyes were focused on the MMC to find out how the team constituted by the Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar would handle the situation on Sunday.
As it turned out, the hawkers on both the MMC parking lot and the SGPDA ground opened the stalls for business activity when they were supposed to dismantle the structures and lift away their goods.
After reports did the rounds on the social media that the feast fair was still continuing on Sunday in open defiance of the High Court order, the MMC team headed by Deepak Desai decided to crack a whip by barricading the entry points to the MMC Parking lot.
Incidentally, though the Chief Officer had made a letter to the Goa police to provide protection on Sunday, the men in uniform made their presence felt at the site only around noon.
The Municipal engineer later told the media that the fair was finally stopped by Sunday noon after the Municipal staff threatened to confiscate the goods from the hawkers.
