FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Team Herald
PONDA: On March 15, Marcel’s fish vendors were shifted to the new Fish Market shed constructed for them at the KTC Bus Stand Premises, from the rundown old shed they were operating out of earlier. However, the very next day, all the vendors returned to their old premises, claiming that they were not getting any business at the new facility. They also foiled the panchayat’s attempts to demolish the old fish market structure.
They did not last at the new shed a single day, and complained that the hawkers sitting on the highway were eating into their business, and also pointed out that the local panchayat had failed to provide them with several essential facilities, and to halt the sale of fish by unauthorised hawkers along the National Highway.
There are around 40 vendors selling fish at the Marcel market, many of them veterans in the business, having spent 25 to 50 years at the old fish market. The fish vendors complained that there were no takers for their fish at the new market shed, within the KTC bus stand, where there is no proper parking for customers either. They demanded that all fish sellers should only conduct business in the dedicated area, and not on the roadside.
When contacted, Tivrem Vargao Sarpanch Jayesh Naik said that the panchayat had spent money to provide the fish vendors better facilities, including ramps for easy movement of crates and ice, but the vendors returned to their old spot without even discussing it with the local authorities.
