MARGAO
Margao New Market Association on Wednesday has threatened to stop paying fees to the Margao Municipal Council if the civic body fails to rein in on the illegal hawkers and encroachers doing business outside the mega market.
The association further said the traders will welcome reconstruction of the mega market if the plan protects the interests of all the traders doing business in the market.
Addressing the media, Association president Vinod Shirodkar slammed the Margao Municipal Council for the utter neglect of the market over the years. He said though the MMC Chairperson Lyndon Pereira and deputy Deepali Sawal had inspected the market, no changes have taken place since then.
“The two MLAs, Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai had always stood by the traders, but we would not like to tell the MLAs to sensitise or hold tuition for the ruling councillors to address the grievances of the market traders,” he said.
Saying that the traders have sustained huge losses because of the feast fairs, which are now extended beyond the 7-day affair, during the festivities such as Christmas and Diwali. “We appeal to the MMC to clear the footpaths and pavements from the hawkers and illegal encroachers. In times of Covid, the police come into the market to levy fines on the people, but such action has not been forthcoming from the authorities at the fair,” he lamented.
Shirodkar warned that they will stop payment of all fees to the Margao Municipality in the event the civic body does not crack a whip against the illegalities in a day or two. “There is no cleanliness in the market. The fish vendors swarm around the market and there’s no action forthcoming against the vendors,” he added.
