VASCO
The Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) has created a record of sorts and earned a staggering revenue of Rs 1.03 crore from the seven-day Saptah fair which began on August 10.
Addressing reporters in Vasco, MMC Chairperson Girish Borker said it was for the first time that MMC had managed to earn highest revenue from the Saptah Fair.
“The MMC has earned around Rs 1.03 crore as revenue from the fair and that too within a period of seven days without any extensions being given. We had managed to collect around Rs 97 lakh last year and we had aimed to cross the 1 crore mark this year,” said Borker.
Borker recollected that some vendors had complained about other councils charging high rates to vendors to match the revenue of MMC.
“We want to clarify that while we have managed to collect Rs 1.03 crore from the Saptah Fair, we have not harassed any vendors nor have we increased our rates or inflated any charges. We managed to earn this revenue because of hard work and dedication of our team,” said Borker.
“We have around 1000 stalls that have been a part of the Saptah fair and we have given each of them a good opportunity to earn while we also generated our income from the Fair.”
“We still have a few more shops yet to make payments and we will send our teams to collect money from these stalls before the Saptah Fair ends. We may reach a revenue of Rs 1.08 crore by Saturday evening.”
Borker said the historic 125th Damodar Saptah had been fantastic in terms of business. “We ensured that all facilities were provided so that devotees and people arriving to Vasco were not inconvenienced.”
“We mandated fire extinguishers in eateries. We also managed to get Gobi Manchurian stalls with due permission from the FDA and even arranged space for cooking in a MMC building so that we don’t disappoint anyone,” said Borker.
“The Saptah began when there were torrential rains but after the Coconut was placed, miraculously there was no rains and all vendors did a great business here. All vendors have happily paid our fees because they have also made sufficient profits and hence we are also happy on achieving this milestone revenue record with the blessings of Lord Damodar.”
