PANAJI
After nearly 10 months and a protracted legal battle up to the Supreme Court of India, a set of six beef, mutton and poultry traders from the Panaji market are slated to be accommodated adjacent to the fish market this week.
"Temporary sheds to accommodate these traders are nearing completion and the traders will be allocated space there," said Bento Lorena who heads the market committee of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP).
Lorena said he expects the traders to take their places and begin their business anew before the end of the current week.
The CCP and the meat traders were engaged in a protracted legal battle lasting nearly three months after the latter approached first the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court of India, aggrieved by the CCP's action of forcibly evicting them and demolishing the old market building.
It ended in the Supreme Court of India which directed the CCP to 'rehabilitate' the six traders with temporary arrangements. The Apex court however ruled simultaneously that lease rights must be fought via separate civil suits in appropriate courts.
The CCP had approached the Apex court challenging the Bombay High Court ruling which had directed the CCP to rehabilitate the meat traders.
The building was demolished in mid-October and since then meat has not been available in the Panaji market and people have to depend on the cold storages in the city and the malls.
