MAPUSA
Hundreds of traders on Thursday morning shut their shops and protested in the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) administrative building against the proposed hike in shop rent in the municipal market from Rs 152 to Rs 296 per square metre.
After protesting for over an hour, they dispersed only after Deputy Speaker and Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza promised to look into their grievances and find a solution.
The protest began when about 200 traders gathered in the market at about 9.30 am and later march towards the MMC administrative building.
When they reached the building, MMC Chairperson Priya Mishal, Deputy Chairperson Viraj Phadke and the chief officer were not in office. Every Thursday, Deputy Speaker Joshua de Souza usually visits the municipal building to attend to complaints of the people. But this time, he too was not in the building.
The traders decided to wait in the municipal building and staged a sit-in protest on the steps of the municipal office, while also chanting slogans against the hike in rent.
After about two hours, D'Souza, Mishal, Phadke and some councillors entered the municipal building. The Mapusa MLA convened a closed door meeting with office bearers of the Mapusa Traders Association and discussed their demands.
After the meeting, D'Souza came out with the office bearers of the association and promised to look into the matter and work out a solution. The traders then dispersed from the site.
Later speaking to reporters, D’Souza said the association had presented its demands. “This demands will be discussed with the ruling group of the MMC to try and work out a solution,” said D’Souza.
Mapusa Traders Association Secretary Siddhesh Raut said the MMC had suddenly doubled the rent without taking the traders into confidence. “The municipality does not provide basic facilities in the market and only garbage is removed. This hike in rent is not acceptable to us,” said Raut.
Ashish Shirodkar, a member of the association, accused the MMC of being insensitive. “They do not understand the interests of traders. We have already submitted our complaint to the municipal director. There are many empty shops in the market. If they are auctioned and given on lease, the municipality can get revenue. But the municipality has not done so. They only want to target us traders,” he alleged.
