Markets are places where people from all walks of life visit on a daily basis. However, it seems that one class of people does not visit a market at all: the political class. Perhaps this is because they have enough servants to do the chores, and they personally never have to visit any market.
How else would one explain the dire situation of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) managed markets in Margao? Whether the wholesale fish market or the retail, visiting the market is akin to entering a dump yard. It’s filthy, stinky and worst, the retail fish market has begun to break down piece by piece.
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The retail fish market was inaugurated after renovation on June 25, 2018, and was designed to emulate the fish market in Dubai. The market has a capacity for 144 fish sellers, CCTVs, a drainage system for individual stalls, insulated containers and compartments for fish sale, and a separate place outside the market for those cutting fish.
But in less than four years the market had received the tag of being the dirtiest market in the State. A glance through the newspapers in the last few years will reveal the quick downfall of the market. Newspaper reports, including O Heraldo have been exposing the ugly side of this market since late 2021. The status of the wholesale fish market is nothing different, if anything, it is worse.
It’s Christmas and holiday time, so I took my daughter to show her around the commercial town and its markets. I was expecting that atleast during this time of the year when NRIs, OCIs and tourists descend in Goa, the market’s upkeep would be better. Alas! I was wrong and my daughter was in for a shock to see the filth and garbage everywhere. Every entry and exit of the market is filled with wastewater that flows through the drains and spills over into the open from the broken chambers. Stink had engulfed the entire market place and the fish-cutting section outside has become a nightmare, to say the least.
The SGPDA collects sopo and monthly rent from fish vendors and fish cutters, and I’m sure there is public funding too, all is going down the drain. The local MLAs seem to have forgotten that there are markets in Margao, and they are very far from anything in comparison to Dubai markets. It is the collective responsibility of all the authorities concerned to ensure that the markets are maintained and do not become a health hazard. But the buck stops at the chairperson of the SGPDA, which is primarily responsible for the market.
