Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar along with fire department officials and vendors during a joint inspection at Vasco market on Monday.
VASCO
Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar said repair and reconstruction work at the fire-ravaged Vasco Sunday Market would begin only after the administration receives the structural stability report, emphasising that public safety would not be compromised.
Salkar said the administration was awaiting the structural assessment of the fire-affected market, following which it would decide whether the existing structure could be retained with necessary repairs or required modifications.
He said the structure must be capable of safely bearing the combined load of around 100 vendors, 200 to 300 visitors at any given time, and the goods and stocks stored by traders. “We will get the stability report, after which we will decide how to go about with the market and where to accommodate the vendors. We do not want another tragedy, and taking any decision without assessing the structural capacity could pose a major risk,” Salkar said.
He cautioned that accommodating vendors without first establishing the strength of the existing structure could have disastrous consequences, particularly as parts of the market slab had already been affected by the fire.
“If we accommodate around 100 vendors and another 200 to 300 people visit the market for shopping, the structure must be able to withstand that load, along with the stocks and goods of the traders. We need to ascertain whether the affected slab can safely bear such a load. If it collapses, it could lead to another major tragedy,” he said.
Salkar said that if the structural stability report gave the green signal, the administration could immediately take up the necessary repair and reconstruction work. However, if the existing structure was found unsuitable to bear the required load, alternative arrangements would have to be worked out to accommodate all traders in the remaining available space within the market.
Assuring affected vendors that their interests would be protected, Salkar said the traders had unanimously demanded that they be accommodated at their original locations and that the administration was working towards meeting this demand. “One thing is certain: all traders have demanded that they be shifted back to their original places, and we will accommodate them there. There should be no doubts about that. We are working in that direction,” he said.
Salkar urged the affected traders not to panic, assuring them that the administration was committed to restoring the market while ensuring the safety of vendors and the public.
