MAPUSA
The devastating fire at Vasco’s Sunday Market, which gutted over 140 shops and caused losses worth crores of rupees, appears to have finally set the administration into action, with district authorities ordering inspections of fire safety arrangements in markets across the State.
Acting on the directions of the North Goa Collector, Bardez Deputy Collector, accompanied by officials of the Fire and Emergency Services and Mapusa Municipal Council, inspected the Mapusa market to assess the availability and adequacy of fire safety facilities and identify potential hazards.
The inspection followed a meeting between the Mapusa Merchants Association (MMA) executive members and Mapusa Municipal Council Chief Officer Kaushik Desai, during which the traders submitted a memorandum seeking urgent measures to prevent a similar tragedy in Mapusa.
The association also met Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza and civic officials at the municipal council office to discuss preventive measures and the need to strengthen fire safety arrangements in the town’s busy market areas.
MMA secretary Siddesh Raut said Mapusa market, with its large concentration of shops, traders and street vendors, could not afford to ignore the warning delivered by the Vasco fire tragedy.
He pointed out that designated access routes within the market, which were marked during road repairs, were frequently blocked by two-wheelers parked by vendors and other people, making it difficult for emergency vehicles to move through the congested market.
“Vendors and others are parking their two-wheelers in the middle of the marked access roads, thereby blocking the passage. We had marked the access routes when the roads were repaired, but the municipal council has failed to ensure that they remain clear,” Raut said.
He also expressed concern that vendors leave their merchandise and belongings packed at their vending sites overnight, further obstructing access routes when the market is closed.
Raut urged the municipal council to ensure that vendors remove their goods at night and that the designated emergency passages remain unobstructed at all times.
Another major concern flagged by the association was the condition of fire hydrants in the market. Raut said the authorities should check whether the hydrants were functional and had adequate water pressure to enable firefighters to respond effectively in the event of an emergency.
Meanwhile, Joshua D’Souza said a meeting had been held with the Chief Officer, the municipal administrator and other officials to review the safety arrangements and ensure that such an incident was not repeated elsewhere.
“The Chief Minister and the district collectors have issued clear instructions to all officials, including the Mapusa Chief Officer and Fire and Emergency Services personnel, to examine and evaluate the fire safety facilities available in Mapusa,” D’Souza said.
He assured that all necessary steps would be taken to safeguard traders, vendors and visitors to the market.
With the Vasco tragedy exposing the risks posed by congested market spaces, blocked access routes and inadequate emergency preparedness, the inspection has brought Mapusa’s own fire safety arrangements under scrutiny.
The immediate challenge, however, will be to ensure that the exercise translates into corrective action on the ground rather than remaining another round of official inspections.
