PANJIM: The construction of Phase III of the Panjim municipal market has been pending for years, even as the existing building housing fish and meat market has become weak and needs to be demolished.
Regarding the construction of the third phase of the building, an official of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) said there is no plan for the construction of third phase of the market.
“There is no revenue from the shops occupied in the municipal market and that is the reason why the construction of the third phase of the market could not be taken up. The shopkeepers do not pay rent as some of them have not signed the agreement from the day the shopkeepers were shifted to the new market. We have not received revenue for the last 20 years,” he said.
According to sources in the CCP, the Government Polytechnic College, Altinho, was entrusted to carry out an inspection of the building and submit a report. The college submitted its report and stated that the building is unsafe. It opined that the building should be demolished and a new building should be constructed.
“Based on that, the tenants of the building have been informed that their agreement is being revoked as the building is unsafe and it requires demolition,” a CCP official told O Heraldo.
“The shopkeepers will be given some time for vacating the building. Letters are to be issued. The Taxation Department too has been asked to send letters to the tenants,” the official said.
In June this year, the fish vendors had urged the CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate to consider providing them with larger space to conduct their business when the Corporation builds a new fish market by demolishing the existing one.
The municipal market has been lying in dire straits for years. Currently, the new municipal market in Panjim is in complete shambles. The market is covered with filth.
Earlier, the CCP had invited proposals from architects for comprehensive design, repair and upgradation work of phase one and two the municipal market.
