Tension prevailed at Ponda till late Friday evening over the issue of clearing the roadside vendors.
The controversy erupted after Ponda market vendors claimed that the footpath vendors are doing business from a private property and the market inspector failed to clear them.
Vendors’ leader Kishore Mamlekar claimed that it is a private property and vendors cannot do their business, as it is close to the market area. “If the owner of the private property says that it is her property, we are not disputing it,” said Mamlekar.
The market vendors met Chief Officer Pravin Barad late in the evening and demanded to remove the five vendors. Finally, the chief officer issued order to clear the footpath vendors and the order will be implemented on April 18 with police protection.
When contacted, property owner Bella Rodrigues claimed that vendors’ leader Mamlekar and other vendors are doing injustice to her and are instigating the Ponda market vendors against the vendors who are doing business from her property near the market.
“Some years back, I had filed a petition against the market inspector for damaging my property and there was a compromise between PMC and me and the court had clearly directed PMC that it should not interfere in my property from 10 mtrs of central line of the road in front of my property,” stated Rodrigues.
“Vendors doing business in my property are not in PMC premises and are also not obstructing pedestrians on the road. I am paying Sopo tax to PMC and allow some vendors to do business since last 30 years. I have licence to sell agricultural produce,” she added.
