PANJIM: Alleging that a tea stall operating sans required permission at the Kadamba Bus Terminus in Panjim is occupying public pedestrian space, activists have demanded the removal of the said stall to ensure pedestrian safety.
“The tea stall named Harman Chahawala has been constructed illegally and also operating illegally as it doesn’t have required permission from the civic body. The structure is blocking the pathway and compromising the safety of passengers, who visit the Panjim bus terminus,” Co-ordinator of GOACAN, Roland Martins said.
“Actually, on that space along with the pedestrian pathway, a common ramp should be built for senior citizens, particularly for persons with disabilities (PWDs),” said Martins, who along with members of his NGO recently held a protest at the bus terminus against the failure of the government to ensure safety of pedestrians.
“We have raised this issue before the authorities concerned including the Transport Department and the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited but our plea has fallen on deaf ears as the person running the illegal stall has political backing. We are not against business, we are against illegalities. We reiterate our demand for removal of the stall at the earliest to ensure pedestrian safety,” he added.
He pointed out that the KTCL has not taken up the work of repainting zebra crossing at the bus terminus while executing the work to replace the roof of passenger bays.
Highlighting that the shaded passage which is being erected from bus bay up to the KTCL complex is extremely narrow, Martins said that there was a high possibility of people getting trapped, and added that even slight rush during peak hours will result in injuries or even death.
“Had the KTCL and the Transport Department shifted the stalls, they would have got adequate space for passage,” he said.
When contacted, owner of the tea stall, Tejas Kochrekar claimed that his business was legal.
“I have all required permissions. Whoever wants to know about it can get it from the authorities concerned, including the KTCL. My business is legal,” Kochrekar said.
