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MAPUSA
“Any organisation or association can come to us and put up their grievances before us. But our engagement with them held in good faith should not be seen as a sign of weakness,” Falari said clearly hinting at the additional demands made by the Mapusa Merchants’ Association (MMA).
The chairperson was addressing a news conference in his cabin on Thursday evening.
On Wednesday, MMA had made a couple of demands asking the council to keep the tendering of Market Sopo tax on hold and holding a seven-day trial on pay parking in the market.
Taking offence in the behaviour of some of the members of MMA, the chairperson said nobody can take the elected council
for granted and impose its views on them.
“It’s not binding on me to entertain MMA members. I can refuse to talk to them. My gesture to talk to them should not be taken as weakness,” he said.
Slamming the members of MMA for their concocted interpretation footpath, Falari wondered
whether they were authorities on the subject.
“I find the statement of some MMA executive members on what is a footpath disturbing and very irresponsible. The High Court has made it very clear what is a footpath and what not. Any XYZ cannot define what a footpath is,” the chairperson stated.
Passing a subtle message to the merchants and shopkeepers in the market, he said the Writ Petition 148/97 has certain conditions that were binding on different stakeholders, including the municipal council.
“We will soon take action on encroachments on all footpaths and will clear the market for free movement of the shoppers,” he said.
Patting his own back, the chairperson said the council in the last one week has embarked on a massive drive to regulate the market.
“We have removed goods stored overnight along the streets, removed illegal handcarts and
pan vendors, acted on sellers of pirated CDs and even taken irresponsible fish vendors,” he said.
‘Action in market: Onus lies with council’
MAPUSA: Stating that the market should be the pride of Mapusa, MMC Chairperson Sandip Falari said that the onus on success of the clearance drive rests on the council.
“We (the council) have to ensure that the consistency of the ongoing clearance drive remains. What we have to ensure what is done is not reversed,” Falari said.
He said he did not blame the people who do not trust the present drive undertaken by the council, as in the past such things have happened.
“In the past such drives were undertaken and within few days all went back to what it was before,” he said empathizing with the people.
“As long as I am the chairperson of the council, this system will remain rock solid and the market will remain clean from illegalities,” he said.
