MARGAO
Curtains came down on the 10-day feast fair at the Old market area of the commercial capital on Friday, but confusion prevails over the status of the fair, whether the Margao Municipal Council has extended the fair by two days and levy additional fees on the hawkers or turn a blind eye to the fair for the next two days.
While the fair has officially ended on Friday given that the Margao civic body has given permission for the fair for only 10 days, the ground reality shows that almost all the stalls put up during the fair has not shut down, throwing up the moot question how the MMC will go about the matter in the next two days.
For, past records show that the hawkers are not expected to leave the fair on Friday and will do business illegally without paying the extra fees. On the other hand, MMC officials say they have so far not received any instructions from the Chief Officer to reign in on the stalls on Saturday. They also have no idea over the quantum of extra fees they should levy on the staff for the next two days in the event the fair is allowed to continue till Sunday.
When The Goan called up Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes to shed light on the feast fair given that the 10-day period has ended on Friday, he said he would discuss with the Chairperson Lyndon Pereira how to go about the matter, whether to extend the fair by two days, and to fix the amount of additional fees.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Council for Margao has demanded that the Council explain the reasons for extension of the old Market fair which has completed 10 days today and with the following Saturday and Sunday, the total number of days going up to a record number of 12 days.
He said it is indeed a pity that the representatives of Madel and Fatorda could show no empathy to the hardships faced by the surrounding residents and general public. Instead, they preferred to protect the interests of some agents, charged SCM convener Savio Coutinho, saying the fair has turned out to be very lucrative for some unscrupulous elements with the blessings of politicians.
SCM members along with some media persons went into the fair stalls today in order to get an insight into this issue. “As 10 days have passed today, we are shocked to learn from the stall owners that no Municipal Council official has done any collection of fees/rent.” However, the sopo contractor’s workers have collected from the stall owners huge amounts ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 depending on the size of the stalls for the first seven days, and that the amounts for the period upto Sunday would be collected on the last day (12th day),” Coutinho revealed.
“It appears for sure that there is an organised loot between the Council and the sopo contractor. The sopo contractor who has been given the liberty and freedom to collect any amount of money from the stall owners, is bound to hand lesser amounts officially to the Council and the balance will obviously get into unknown pockets,” Coutinho lamented.
