Vendors who sell their items at church feast fairs, especially at Margao, are up in arms at the fact that they won’t be allowed to set up stalls on the usual streets of the town. With the feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception coming up on December 8, they have protested and demanded with Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to address their grievances and ensure that they are allowed to have their stalls at the same place.
With MMC Chief Officer Y B Tawde putting the ball in the council’s court, stating that a special meeting will have to be held, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat has favoured a petition filed before the court to challenge the order.
The recent High Court order, hailed by Margao residents, came following a PIL filed by Green Goa Foundation seeking prohibition of the fair on the roads on the occasion of the feasts of Holy Spirit in May/June and Immaculate Conception on the NH 17 and the bypass linking NH 17 to NH 4A. For several years, some civic-minded citizens had approached MMC suggesting that the fair be shifted to the SGPDA grounds, as it caused inconvenience to motorists along the Margao-Panjim road.
“Over the years the fair has metamorphosed beyond recognition and no longer serves its original purpose,” said Raison Almeida, the petitioner.
He added that on the occasion of the fair that goes on for ten days, the surroundings get vitiated and the paddy fields around are used by the public to ease themselves creating a health hazard. He argued that the footpaths and the roads cannot be used for setting up stalls for the fair since this causes hardships to the public.
Margao residents, who have been opposing the fair on the streets due to the traffic congestion and other reasons, feel that MMC’s reluctance was not only due to pressure from stall owners but mainly due to the revenue loss it would suffer if the fair was shifted to the SGPDA grounds. They allege that to subvert the law, which prohibits occupation of footpaths, MMC had the stalls put up outside the footpaths, but this still inconvenienced pedestrians and motorists, as the crowd would spill on the roads.
Welcoming the High Court order, Margao resident Jose Maria Miranda, explained that the fair was initially held around the Church, but later due to traffic congestion, it was shifted to the Old Market and thereafter further down.
Though the fairs were held on the occasion of the feasts, the Church had nothing to do with the fairs. This was also clarified by the present Parish Priest of Holy Spirit, Fr Avinash Rebelo, whose views were sought by the District Collector, a couple of years back.
The court order will give relief to citizens and will not affect anyone’s business, as is being claimed by some, said Miranda, questioning how far is the new location from the old one. The only loser is MMC, which looked more at its income than the welfare of the people. The order spared the present Chairperson the unpleasant task of taking this decision, which would otherwise perhaps never come, considering the pressure exercised by lobbies, which the authorities generally yield to, added Miranda.
