Team Herald
PANJIM: After the power connection to the Panjim Municipal market was cut off by the Electricity Department, the market toilets were locked on Thursday as there was no water available in the premises.
Speaking to Herald, Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Commissioner Dipak Desai said, “Since the power supply has been disconnected, we are unable to pump water to the overhead tanks of the market. In the absence of water, the toilets if used would only lead to further problems, hence they have been locked.”
The toilets in the market complex are maintained by the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation.
Responding to queries on the solutions that the CCP is working out on the power supply issue, Desai said the local body has been advised to apply for a temporary connection until the dues are cleared and power restored.
Market vendors and shopkeepers had a tough time on Thursday with agitated shopkeepers and vendors expressing their anger. One vendor said that in the absence of a proper mechanism, the market has begun to stink as people have started urinating in corners or open spaces behind the complex.
On Tuesday, the Electricity Department had disconnected the power supply to the market after CCP had failed to clear dues of more than Rs 3.20 crore for power consumed since 2014.
CCP also owes PWD more than Rs 71 lakh for water consumption since 2003. PWD has issued several notices to CCP to recover the dues, however, the matter is pending due to bureaucratic apathy.
