Old, dilapidated and unsafe buildings in the commercial capital have always been a cause of concern necessitating the listing of all such structures dotting Margao city after the District Collector issued a fiat to this effect somewhere around the same time last year.
Yet, even after the exercises were carried out diligently, surprisingly nothing much was heard of this matter again. The series of disastrous incidents in the past few years should have alerted the concerned authorities in this regard and prodded them into action.
It is however the New Market, the commercial capital’s business hub, which has clearly been the eye-sore that greets visitors to Margao city.
A brief write-up describes the New Municipal Market as more modernized in comparison to the Old Market, and stretching across two sections. With small shops tucked at its main entrance, smaller lanes within the market enable smoother flow of traffic in an otherwise crowded space.
Another post describes the New Market as the ‘Maze market’ because of the numerous gates leading to the market which leads one through a network of passages that seemed like nothing short of a maze.
Maybe the entire ‘complex’ served its purpose in the earlier years of its existence catering to the consumer needs of the locals then. But times have changed!
Margao, as a city, has clearly grown around the market area. The New market ‘complex’ as that fulcrum in and around which all commercial activities take place has given it a place of prominence in the city landscape.
The hustle-and-bustle witnessed here from dawn to dusk is a true indication of the crowds that frequent the place regularly. Besides, the hawkers who occupy places in the market area to peddle their wares add to the melee.
The presence of costermongers in the streets cannot be overlooked either!
At any given moment of the day, there is a steady stream of people visiting the market for their needs, while there are quite a few others just strolling around the place and whiling away their time.
The network of intricate passages within the market running parallel and criss-cross through the entire stretch is another nightmare for citizens. With most of the shops having their merchandise displayed outside, the constriction of place further hampers public movement.
Snarled-up traffic is a perennial issue in the area. With continuous vehicular movement along all routes which converge at the market, a semblance of chaos prevails all through the day. The haphazard parking in the area further compounds problems.
One cannot be blind to the sight of details of police personnel managing traffic and penalizing errant drivers everywhere but the bustling roads in the market area.
A feeling that posting a few constables at vantage points and directing traffic in the market complex could ease matters should have encouraged city fathers to embrace the idea whole-heartedly.
With cars, goods-carriers and two-wheelers ‘availing’, and at times literally squeezing into, each and every inch of available space for parking, it is apparent that vehicles almost always outnumber people in the market at any given moment.
Even footpaths have turned into parking lots for people. And then one has to contend with frequent incidents of double-parking as well!
But then, the market is a story of a hundred incongruities within, as it is outside!
Electrical wires hanging hazardously overhead, open electrical fixtures and several other irregularities have been observed and reported in the past by concerned citizens and have extensively featured in the local media as well.
Giving cause to fire mishaps in the past, such discrepancies have invited the ire of the Fire and Emergency Services Department primarily responsible for attending to these accidents and assessing the extent of damages.
When it is more than evident that scant attention has been paid to the maintenance and upkeep of the premises; mishaps, the magnitude of which can vary according to the ‘situations’ prevalent, are just waiting to happen.
The recent fire that engulfed four shops in the busy Margao market in the morning hours of Tuesday, with the flames threatening to spread across the entire area that is usually bustling with activity, compels Madgaumkars to come to terms with the fact that such accidents will henceforth be a regular affair if corrective measures are not thought of immediately.
The incident once again brings to fore the administration’s lack of seriousness in putting systems in place to combat such eventualities.
The early instances have apparently not been eye-openers as is obvious from the sorry state of fire-fighting equipment in the market area which leaves a lot to be desired from the point of view of readiness for emergency situations.
As a matter of fact, the Margao market blaze fuels a host of questions on fire audit.
If the Margao Municipal Council officials could treat the need to have a fully functional fire-fighting system in the mega market complex so frivolously, the safety of the shops and people coming to buy commodities there apparently don’t feature in their order of priorities.
After all the hullabaloo over the frequent fire outbreaks, there is now a ‘unanimous’ demand for seriously implementing fire prevention measures in and around the market area.
The revival of the defunct fire hydrants, construction of a dedicated overhead water tank for use during emergencies, and the matter of orderly vehicular parking around the market premises, now, after all this while, feature as issues that need to be prioritised by the authorities.
With the New Market playing host to around 450-500 shops and stalls, market safety needs to be taking precedence over everything else.
But this would entail both the authorities and the stakeholders to come together to take stock of the situation from time to time and suggest ways and means to enhance safety standards in the market.
