the goan I network
MARGAO
Post-Saturday’s fire incident, the Margao Municipality on Monday in an unprecedented action cleared encroachments from the municipal drainage after the civic body stumbled upon the fact that the space needed for the defunct fire hydrants was blocked in the New market area.
An agitated Margao Municipal Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai and Chief Officer Siddivinayak Naik took an on the spot decision to get the municipal drainage cleared of the encroachments by deploying a JCB machine.
The drainage near the Ropachall (textile lane) near the Babu Cloth was cleared of the encroachments with the help of heavy machinery. Both the Municipal chairperson and the chief officer were seen personally supervising the operation and left the place only after the Ropachall drainage was cleared of the encroachments.
Teams of Municipal workers were later seen clearing the concrete slabs and pavers along the lane opposite the Madgaon Café under police protection. That the municipality meant business was evident by the fact that the chief cfficer called upon Margao PI Kapil Nayak on Monday evening with a plea to rush additional police to the new market area after some persons were found obstructing the operation.
“I along with the MMC chairperson and the Municipal engineer decided to inspect the new market area following Saturday’s fire incident. We were shocked to find out how the municipal drain is being encroached by some unscrupulous shop owners. If this situation continues, there will be no space left in the municipal drain to take the water pipeline to reactivate the defunct fire hydrants,” Naik said.
In fact, the chief officer told the Municipal inspectors Sheikh Hasina and Seema Godge to stand firm and complete the work, promising to send additional police force as a precautionary measure.
Shop destroyed in fire incident among 10 sealed in Margao new market area
MARGAO: In yet another unprecedented action, the Margao Municipal Council sealed as many as 10 shops around the new market area, including the shop which was destroyed in Saturday’s fire incident.
Chief Officer Siddivinayak Naik along with his team of officers descended in the shop which was engulfed in a fire accident on Saturday just to find out the extent of damage caused by the inferno.
To his surprise, the owner could not produce the documents, including receipts of the trade licence, house tax receipts when asked by the Municipal team. The no-nonsense chief officer ordered the sealing of the shop till the owner produces the relevant documents to his office.
The municipal team inspected the shops and establishments around the new market area and sealed as many as nine more shops. The CO pointed out that the 10 shops and establishments have been sealed since the owners could not produce the documents, including the trade licence, house tax receipts.
To a question, the CO told the media that the drive against business establishments operating in the city without the mandatory trade licence and house tax has resumed after the Diwali break. “Our team is now back on the streets after the Diwali festival. We have not gone inside the new market, but have only concentrated on establishments around the market,” he added.
