PANAJI: Traders affected by the devastating fire at Vasco’s Sunday Market have demanded that the incident be declared a State Disaster, along with full compensation, an inquiry into the cause of the blaze, and urgent rehabilitation to help them restart their businesses.
The fire, which destroyed most of the market last night, has left traders facing massive losses just days before Diwali. Several merchants had borrowed money to purchase festive stock, leaving them with mounting debts and no immediate means of earning an income. “Except for a few shops, the entire market has been completely destroyed. There must be an inquiry and a full investigation into how the fire broke out,” a trader said. “We are not going to vacate this place or go anywhere else. We urge the government and administration to work on a war footing to reallocate space to us at the earliest and provide complete assistance to restart our businesses,” he added.
The traders said they were still struggling to assess their losses and come to terms with the devastation. “We haven’t even recovered from the shock yet. The fire broke out last night, no one has slept, and we cannot immediately give an exact assessment of the financial loss,” the trader said. He said merchants would consult one another and prepare an honest and transparent list of their losses, including identifying shops that had little or no stock at the time of the fire. “If the government is helping us, an accurate and transparent list must reach them,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of the losses, the trader cited his brother’s case, saying he had brought in merchandise worth Rs 11 lakh just a day before the fire. Of this, Rs 7 lakh had been obtained on credit from suppliers, while the remaining Rs 4 lakh had been arranged from other sources. “Only two main days of sales were left for Diwali,” he said, estimating that around 70% of merchants had lost their entire inventory.
Meanwhile, Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar announced a donation equivalent to two years’ salary to the relief fund, with the amount to be used to provide immediate financial assistance to affected traders through individual cheques. “This is truly a tragic incident. Yesterday, by coincidence, fire broke out in three places simultaneously,” Salkar said, explaining that firefighting teams had to respond to multiple incidents as the blaze spread.
He said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reached the site around midnight and monitored firefighting operations, coordinating with senior officials, including the Collector, Director General of Police,e and Fire and Emergency Services Director. The fire was completely extinguished by around 3.30 am, he said.
Salkar said the Chief Minister had scheduled a virtual meeting with representatives of the vendor associations to discuss immediate relief and rehabilitation. “We urged the Chief Minister that these poor daily vendors require immediate financial relief and prompt assistance to restart their livelihoods,” he said.
The MLA said the government would decide the final relief package but assured that maximum assistance would be provided. The administration had begun compiling damage assessments, while discussions with the two vendor associations would help establish the traders’ immediate requirements. “Relief alone is insufficient; rehabilitation and business recovery are essential,” Salkar said, stressing that helping vendors resume business was the priority.
He added that authorities would investigate the cause of the fire and examine possible safety lapses, including whether the market’s fire hydrants were operational. A special team comprising the Chief Secretary, Collector and DGP had been deputed to visit the site, while the Chief Minister had directed the DGP to investigate all possible causes of the blaze.
