the goan I network
PANAJI
The food stalls at Panjim have come under the scanner again a little over a month after being shifted to the square behind Don Bosco High School, this time for allegedly not serving customers with clean drinking water and using the tap water available at the public Sulabh toilet located in the square.
Around 14 food stalls currently operate from the small square just behind Don Bosco High School, where they were shifted by the Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP) in May from their location at the Municipal Garden near the Mary Immaculate Church.
When sources informed The Goan that the food
stalls were using tap
water from public Sulabh toilet located in the square instead of drinking water to serve customers, The Goan contacted the CCP regarding the issue.
While Mayor Vitthal Chopdekar was non-committal about the issues facing the public with regards to the stalls, saying that it wasn’t within his power to move the stalls out of that area, and it was up to the “vending committee”, CCP Commissioner Ajit Roy asserted that the stalls would stay there for the foreseeable future.
“The CCP has designated that area within the city for the stalls, so they will be operating from there,” he said in no uncertain terms.
However, Corporator of Ward 11, Soraya Pinto Makhija had a completely different standpoint.
Makhija was not in agreement with the Commissioner and wanted the stalls moved to Patto because of the garbage nuisance that was inevitable with keeping the food stalls in that area.
“I have received complaints and signature campaign letters from the
Don Bosco School authorities, its PTA, and residents of the Panjim Market Residential Area that the food carts are a menace as garbage is strewn all over, making the area dirty and unhygienic, and could lead to the outbreak of an epidemic, putting the lives of people, especially the school children, at risk,” said Makhija who had carried out a development cum beautification project of the Square in CCP Ward No 11 which was inaugurated in March 2018.
“Moreover, there is a Sulabh toilet right next to the food carts,” she added.
However, in May, the CCP shifted the food carts from the Panjim Church Square to the Don Bosco Square, which Makhija says was a decision that was made not taking her into confidence.
“The CCP shifted the food carts from the Panjim Church Square to the Don Bosco Square in May without taking me, the Ward Corporator, into confidence,” Makhija told The Goan.
When asked about Makhija’s concerns, Commissioner Roy said that Patto Plaza did not fall under the CCP and as such, the stalls would have to stay in their current location.
Regarding the garbage problem, Roy said, “We are monitoring the garbage problem and are regularly cleaning it. These are small-time vendors. So it’s in their interest to clean up the area they are operating in if they want business.”
