Due to the need of the people, the existing market in Panjim is expanding as it wasn’t able to sustain the load of the rising population. With a slew of issues at the Panjim market, the residents of the capital city and those that live on the outskirts are demanding a new market on the outskirts.
The North Goa Planning and Development Authority’s (NGPDA) to scrap the Mala market has caused a stir among some residents of the area. “The market complex development has not been scrapped entirely yet. The project under the PPP model has been scrapped,” said Michael Lobo, chairman of the NGPDA.
The existing market in the heart of the city is extremely congested and visitors are facing a major problem due to this congestion and parking issues that plague the area. “The government needs to plan and come up with a quick solution to the market issue. The existing structure is not able to bear the load of the rising population,” said Rajendra Bhingee, a resident of Mala. Bhingee also opined that the government must take immediate steps in order to divert some of the crowd out of the capital city so that congestion and traffic can be controlled to an extent.
Dharmesh Chodankar, a resident of Tonca said that the Mala market, which has been left half complete, is an ideal place for the alternate market to reduce the load on the main market in Panjim. “People from Taleigao, Bhatlem, St Cruz and even those from Merces and Chimbel will find Mala feasible and more convenient than the main Panjim market,” he said.
“There is absolutely no issue with the location of the main market but there are numerous issues which makes it very difficult for shoppers. There is no proper parking space around the area to park vehicles and due to the absence of any other proper market to shop at, the entire crowd gets diverted to this market,” said Shilpa Joshi, a Panjim resident. Joshi went on to add that it is high time the government thinks of constructing a market on the outskirts of the city because Panjim has already crossed its saturation point.
The market complex at Mala has been pending for over a decade now for various reasons. During the regime of the previous Congress government, the market complex and surrounding areas had been given on lease to a Gujarat based company on PPP mode for 60 years. The present government, however, deemed that the decision taken by the Congress government was not in favour of the general public and therefore revoked the agreement with them and this has kept the project in limbo.
However, the Sessions Court has asked to appoint an arbitrator to resolve the matter between the NGPDA and the Gujarat company. Lobo added that a security deposit of Rs 1 crore was given by the company at the time of the agreement and they are ready to give it back to them with bank interest.
Lobo also informed that Rs 40 lakh has already been spent on the construction of the existing structure of the market at Mala and instead of giving it on PPP, the government should shell out money for the construction of the structure as it is for a public purpose.
Shubham Chodankar, Mayor of Panjim has noted that Mala is the right place for the alternate market complex for Panjim. He also went on to add that soon after the property comes out of litigation, he will pursue the matter with the local MLA and the government.
Local MLA, Siddharth Kunkolienkar has also agreed on the demand of the Panjim residents for the new market and has assured that the matter will be taken up with the authorities.
