the goan I network
MARGAO
As the Margao Municipal Council resumed the crackdown on use of plastic bags in the Municipal market after brief lull, agitated traders has set a 10-day deadline on the Municipal authorities to stop what they called harassment meted out to the small traders or face an unprecedented morcha on the Municipal authorities.
An angry New Market Association president Vinod Shirodkar wondered why the Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes and his team is only harassing the small time traders in the New market while leaving the owners of shops and business establishments scot free. “We the traders had all extended our cooperation to the Municipal authorities to make Margao a plastic free town. But, the ground reality is different. How can the Chief Officer make Margao a plastic free town when the rich and the mighty shop owners can use plastic bags by paying an annual registration fee of Rs 48,000”, he demanded to know.
More ever, he demanded to know why is the Municipality and its team of market inspectors and sanitary inspectors turning a blind eye to the use of plastic by the departmental stores to pack sugar and other grocery items. “Let the Municipality explain how many such stores were raided by the team till date and also explain why grocery items are still available in plastic bags”, Vinod asserted, while alleging that the MMC team is only meting out harassment to the small traders in the New market and the fish vendors in the fish vendors.
“We are now left with no option than to take an unprecedented morcha at the Margao Municipal building to lodge our protest since the Municipal babus and city fathers have failed to understand our plight”, he added.
The MMC team headed by Sanitary inspector Viraj Arabekar and the market inspectors went on a challan issuing spree on Thursday morning after a brief lull as per the orders of the Chief Officer, Johnson Fernandes. The team has slapped a fine of Rs 2000 on each of the eight violators in the New market, drawing flak from the vendors Association.
