TEAM HERALD
VASCO: For the first time in its 115-year history, the Vasco Saptah may witness tense moments over the allotment and location of over 700 stalls at the Saptah fair which commences from Monday.
While many stall owners are upset with the MMC for having shifted them away from their traditional site at the fair, some others have complained that they are yet to be given permission to setup their stalls.
Adding to the tension is a rift between the stall owners, with the traditional stall owners determined to occupy the same space now allotted to other stall owners.
Fearing a law and order problem in the town, MMC Chief Officer YB Tavde has sought the assistance of added police forces to patrol the area.
“The MMC has already issued licences to around 368 stalls, while 344 stalls will be given licences by Sunday,” Tawde told Herald.
The MMC is caught in a tight spot over efforts to appease the stall owners, who are unhappy over the new layout of the stalls, as well as to address the concerns of residents who have complained that the earlier layout of stalls had led to severe congestion and inconvenience in the town.
Most stall owners, especially those dealing with readymade garments, have insisted that they be given the same space allotted to them during the previous editions of the Saptah fair.
With the MMC deciding to locate stalls on the basis of business activities, many stall owners are now worried that they may lose out on business if they are located elsewhere.
The rift between stall owners has reached a boiling point, with some stall owners complaining to Tavde that they are being threatened by other stall owners to move away from the more prominent locations of the fair, failing which they would be manhandled by goons.
“We have directed the stall owners to report any law and order problem to the police patrolling the area. This year, the council has decided to streamline the stalls according to the business activities and stall owners cannot demand the same space previously allotted to them,” Tavde said.
“The pending applications of stall owners will be accommodated and the new applicants will be given permission depending upon the area available,” he added.
Tempers ran high on Saturday when a group of stall owners shouted slogans outside the MMC building. Vasco police later went to the site and dispersed the group of stall owners after threatening to arrest them if their actions led to the deterioration of law and order in the town.
Meanwhile, confusion continues to prevail over the allotment and location of stalls for the Vasco Saptah, with the administrative and technical staff of MMC working overtime to resolve the deadlock.
Some stall owners dealing in readymade garments met Tavde and some councillors on Friday and later went along with Councillor Tara Kerkar to seek the intervention of city-based industrialist Narayan Bandekar.
“The aggrieved stall owners met Bandekar and highlighted the problems faced by them following MMC’s decision to relocate the stalls. Bandekar has requested the councillors to allow the stall owners to erect their stalls at the same site, as was done in the past years, and to implement the new layout of stalls from next year,” said Kerkar.
Denying that Bandekar had contacted him to revert to the old layout of stalls for this year’s Saptah, MMC Vice Chairperson Shekar Khadapkar said: “The commotion is taking place only because two councillors are instigating the stall owners. If these two councillors had any objection to the new plan, they should have objected to the decision before the resolution was passed at the last council meeting.”
