CANACONA
The Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) Chairperson Nitu Desai has said that the Saturday bazaar at Chaudi would remain closed for another month, as a precautionary measure to prevent further spread of Covid cases.
Desai said the decision was taken amid reports of forceful attempts to reopen the weekly bazaar on Saturday.
“The health concerns of people are of utmost importance and any arrogance by traders to display their goods/vegetables out in the open market for trade at Chaudi this Saturday will be dealt strictly and traders concerned will be taken to task for any violations,” warned the CMC chairperson.
Incidentally, Desai along with a few councillors had met Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes and briefed him on reports that some traders were trying to open up the weekly bazaar on Saturday.
The MLA and Chairperson unanimously decided not to risk public health safety, especially since Covid cases are increasing in the taluka and given the fact that the produce is brought from Belgaum and Hubli, which have a high number of Covid cases.
The CMC had stopped the weekly bazaar since the last week of March as precautionary measures to stop the spread of Covid. Since then, the weekly bazaar has not been conducted in Canacona taluka, except for a few local growers who sell their daily produce at certain spots in and around Chaudi.
When contacted, the Canacona MLA emphasised the need to strictly observe social distancing and other safety measures.
“The weekly bazaar will only worsen the situation, compromise safety measures and contribute to the further spread of Covid. A spike in Covid cases in the last few days has been a cause for concern and there is no point in risking public health,” said Fernandes.
“I fully endorse the CMC’s decision not to hold weekly bazaar for some more time, but we will review the situation after a month,” he added.
