Displaying zeal and ‘public Initiative’ locals from Chicolna-Bogmalo village inaugurated the much-needed toilet and changing room facility at Bogmalo beach after State government’s tourism department failed to do so for a long time.
Curchorem-Sanvordem that was abuzz with crowds and people flocking from Sanguem, Quepem and even Salcete on Sunday’s as it’s the bazaar day from 9 am onwards till about 1 pm now has few takers, due to the impact of the mining ban.
In fact, the Sunday after Easter saw things getting worse, with coconuts going unsold, no takers for fish and veggies, dry fish provisions vendors looking for customers, cloth and utensil merchant’s having no sale.
“The market has had a lull. I supply fruits from Margao’s SGPDA market every day but from earlier supply of two vehicles a day, my fruit supply to the fruit vendor’s is down to one vehicle every three days. That’s the demand in Curchorem. The local vendors who operate the market are suffering with no income,” explains Shoaib Shaikh at the bazaar day.
While Dilkush Naik shows us the mere thirteen vehicles parked in the parking lot compared to a market that’s crowded with the parking full.
“In fact the parking and traffic is unimaginable on the market day, such that the municipality allowed people to park along the roads as long as the driver or rider was besides the vehicle. But today the parking lot is empty and there’s hardly anybody in the market,” explains Dilkush, who sells peeled coconuts in the market and has slashed her rates because there are no takers.
Villagers come from Dhabal, Xelvona, Xeldem and Beptekal to buy dry fish provisions, garlic, chillies to prepare for the monsoons but with the mining ban, there seems to be lesser cash flow amongst households which meant lesser villagers travelled to Savordem town for Sunday shopping.
“ The Andhra locals who work as operators, drivers and are involved in the ore transportation and extraction have left the state,” explains Naresh, who manages the fish supply in the market.
We are also told these migrants have also pulled out their children studying in government and private schools in the vicinity.
“Usually the entire market is a huge affair in Sanvordem-Curchorem and is well planned. The vendor’s sit for a few hours at the Quepem market and the rush here to Curchorem start at 9 am. Families come to shop, buy clothes, cloth materials, provisions, utensils followed by a snack or the men catch up for a drink at the bars in the vicinity but this time the summer is hot and the spirits are down. The entire market has crashed and only gloom prevails from the mining ban. Restaurants, supermarket outlets, bakeries, hair salons, car accessory shops have no takers and customers. Either people involved in mining have left or a few locals from the vicinity have worries of their loans and have decided to go slow on their expenses, which has left local Goan traders in the market reeling since they depend on daily sales of fast moving consumer goods,” explains a local trader in the market, Jeetesh Prabhu, who had a small shop selling cloth materials and floor mats and had just invested in a mobile shop.
selling mobile phones and recharge coupons but the shop hardly has any business.
Even the local shop run by Pramod that sells falooda, lemonade and soda to quench people’s thirst on market day is cribbing about no business and how Curchorem’s bazaar has crashed this summer with the mining ban.
“In fact because the market in Margao is a little upscale and expensive, I started out early morning to come to Curchorem to purchase tarpaulin to cover part our roof this monsoons but I was surprised to see and empty market here and the lack of customers has forced Curchorem’s vendors to up their prices to make a living, so my travel all the way from Curtorim has gone futile for cheaper wares. The tamarind and spice traders here are also upset of lack of business this April post the mining ban,” explains Rosario Rebello.
