TEAM HERALD
PONDA: Customers of the Ponda branch of the Bardez Bazaar Consumer’s Cooperative Society were in for a surprise when they found the shopping complex sealed following a dispute between the landlord and the Bardez Bazaar Society.
A furious Bardez Bazaar Chairman Dharma Chodankar has complained to the police demanding the arrest of the landlord, Joseph Fernandes of Ponda for forcibly taking possession of the premises, which had been rented out to Bardez Bazar, thereby violating the ten-year agreement.
Fernandes has, however, accused the Bardez Bazaar of violating the agreement, forcing him to take possession of his premises.
Addressing a news conference, Chodankar alleged that Fernandes had hired persons on Friday night and had entered the premises by breaking the locks of the shops.
“Goods worth around Rs 30 lakh, which were also brought for the upcoming Ganesh festival, have been taken and this is a criminal offence. They have blocked our entry by putting new locks. He should be arrested immediately and we will meet Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to demand action in the matter,” said Chodankar.
According to Chodankar, the Bardez Bazaar had entered into an agreement with Fernandes in 2009 for a period of 10 years to run Bardez Bazaar in his premises.
“Bardez Bazaar is a reputed organisation in the cooperative sector for the last 25 years and has no liabilities. Since 2009, we regularly paid a monthly rent of Rs 60,000 to owner. But suddenly last year, the owner wanted to start one construction near his rented premises to us. We opposed it because we were likely to suffer in the process,” said Chodankar.
“The owner later harassed us by disconnecting power supply and also denied us other facilities, due to which we curtailed our rent to Rs 30,000 since last year. However, he rejected such payment by us through cheques since May 2013.”
“He violated the agreement and on July 22 sent us a notice through his lawyer to vacate premises by August 10, failing which he would enter the premises and take possession.”
“In this regard, we complained to the police and collector and sought protection, but they failed and as a result, the owner with help of hired persons forcibly took possession of premises and also the goods in the shop,” added Chodankar.
On the other hand, Joseph Fernandes had complained on August 9 to Ponda police that the Bardez Bazar had not paid its rent for the 15 months, which amounted to around Rs 9 lakh. He also claimed that maintenance charges of around Rs 3 lakh were also not paid to him.
Fernandes added that Bardez Bazaar had also violated the agreement by recently starting its new supermarket near Rajiv Kala Mandir in Ponda, thereby violating the agreement in 2009 with him.
In this regard, he also sent a notice to Bardez Bazaar on July 22 asking them to vacate the premises by August 10, failing which he would take possession of his premises.
