MAPUSA
The Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) on Tuesday sealed 11 shops of street vendors that were illegally operating at Ghateshwarnagar in Khorlim.
This is the third time in the last six months that the MMC has taken action to seal these shops. Acting on the orders of MMC chief officer, a team comprising Junior Engineer Subha Amonkar, Manthan Kaskar, Municipal Inspector Prajwal Dhargalkar, Senior Clerk Nilesh Lingudkar, Anil Naikh, and Vaman Pawar sealed the 11 shops under police protection.
Earlier in September 2024, the MMC had sealed 22 roadside stalls on the grounds that they were illegal, and it was decided to demolish eight of these shops. After that, the aggrieved parties obtained a stay on this action through the administrative tribunal, and the municipality removed the seals from all the shops.
After that, the MMC initiated action by issuing a final notice to seal 16 shops on February 7. However, due to the intervention of shopkeepers, the municipal team returned after sealing only two shops. Later, the municipal council removed these seals within six days.
The MMC has taken action for the third time in six months. Meanwhile, the shopkeepers expressed displeasure over this action of the MMC and complained that they were not allowed to take out their goods from the shops before they were sealed.
The shopkeepers alleged that there are many illegal activities going on in Mapusa city and further alleged that while shops in Housing Board have not been touched, authorities were only initiating action against shops in Ghateshwarnagar in Khorlim.
