Hopes were raised around a year ago, that the fish and fruit vendors along the roadside at the Nehru Stadium junction, Fatorda would be finally relocated close to the stadium wall and the road widened as part of the beautification of the junction ahead of the Lusofonia Games. The proposal to relocate the vendors at the initiative of the local MLA Vijai Sardesai had received the government’s stamp of approval after the same was personally vetted by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar during his visit to the junction over a year ago. The ground reality, however, remains unchanged till date.
The proposal is bogged down over a row on the size of the stalls to be allotted to the three or four stall owners as part of the rehabilitation plan. MLA Vijai Sardesai says, “The relocation of the fish and fruit vendors, beside the Chapels was taken up with the government as part of the widening and beautification of the traffic junction. The plan has hit a road block and the chief minister has now promised me to remove the bottlenecks and ensure that the work starts at the earliest.”
While the relocation of the vendors is being perceived as a temporary measure, the Fatorda MLA said plans are afoot to put a satellite market in place, just meters away from the existing make shift market. “I will soon approach the land owner and impress upon him the need to gift the open space to the civic body. Once this hurdle is crossed, we can then set in motion the process to set a satellite market in the open space”, he added.
