There are a number of roadside hawkers and fruit-vendors selling all kind of fruits, tender coconuts, vegetables etc, especially near Old Post Office, Caranzalem and some other areas in Caranzalem, Taleigao and Dona Paula, without any licence or permission from the CCP or Taleigao Panchayat.
These people are non-Goans and do not pay any taxes and authorities from CCP and Panchayats do not take any cognizance of this.
These stalls, selling fruits and other items come by trucks from neighboring Karwar and Belgaum. This has been going on quite a long time and when I asked one of the owners near the Caranzalem Old Post Office the vendor told me that he has been given permission by one Minister. However, he refused to name the minister, in spite of asking several times.
The worst part is that he told me to tell whoever I want and that he is not afraid of any action being taken. It looks like these kind of roadside vendors are mushrooming all over the state, selling fruits, coconuts, other goods, as they have godfathers who seem willing to protect them.
Will some authorities like CCP or Taleigao Panchayat please take note of these illegal activities going on in full strength, that too without any license and without paying any taxes to the Municipalities or Panchayats?
Recently, the Mayor made a statement that was carried in all the newspapers that CCP was in loss as people were not paying house tax. Why does the CCP or panchayat not tax such vendors who are also a source of income for them? They also ignore fees and taxes for advertisement boards and posters etc. as they can fetch good amount.
These roadside stalls are not licensed and we do not know if they are spreading diseases. Besides, we are not sure if the items they sell are fit for public consumption. They are sold on the roads, footpaths and near fields.
Perhaps the FDA too should look into this if the CCP doesn’t care about the residents of these localities.
