Every city and village has a designated market area and spaces where people gather. Local business owners are free to set up their stalls or ‘gaddas’ in these marked zones. However, putting up stalls on busy roadsides and sharp turns blocks traffic and puts lives at risk.
In Goa, we see many illegal roadside stalls, especially at dangerous bends where people stop suddenly and park their vehicles in the middle of the road. This careless behaviour leads to traffic jams and even accidents. Who is responsible? It is the duty of the village panchayat, municipal council, PWD, and police to ensure that road safety is not compromised by such stalls.In my own village, outsiders selling fish from bicycles and motorcycles have taken over the area in front of the well-known Menezes Braganza heritage house. The Guridolim village panchayat has turned a blind eye to this, which raises suspicion that they are being given free fish or favours in return.
Visitors going to the nearby bank are forced to deal with the bad smell, which creates a poor impression. In Cotta, Chandor, there is also a roadside gadda near the St Tiago Chapel, causing traffic issues as people park on a sharp turn. One fish seller even removed a panchayat signboard to run his illegal business on the roadside at the Chandor“Cavorim border.
I strongly urge the village panchayat and municipal authorities to take immediate action and remove all illegal roadside gaddas that are blocking roads and putting public safety at risk.
