Recently a sudden uproar by the New Market Vendors led by Vinod Shirodkar hit the headlines of all social media forums and the local dailies. The argument of the New Market Vendors was that the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) was allowing exhibitions on its parking ground, thereby inconveniencing people in Margao and denying them parking. Secondly, they alleged that permissions to these exhibition cum sale was a scam of the Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Y B Tavde and thirdly they felt that these exhibitions should be denied permissions since they hamper business of the traders in the market, who pay certain trade fees and taxes.
“Firstly we need to consider the Rs 50,000 per day revenue that MMC generates for permissions granted to these exhibition cum sale. Secondly, the SGPDA to gets revenue since it’s their premises and thirdly such permissions are granted only after a council nod voted by its 25 members. So where is the question of a scam and where is the question of making me the kingpin of any scam, unless these so called activists show some money trail or lobbying by me for these exhibitions,” asserted Margao Municipality Chief Officer Y B Tavde.
Similarly, SGPDA chairman Mauvin Godinho giving us a back grounder to the entire matter explains to us that part of the SGPDA parking grounds are utilised to grant permissions for installing a stall for these exhibitions. He also explains to us that this practice has been going on since 2006 and only recently a meeting between SGPDA, MMC and the local MLAs including Digambar Kamat, Vijai Sardesai and Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, it was decided that these exhibitions will be reduced to six a year. The new market vendors who were present at the meeting with stakeholders accepted this decision in unison.
“This anarchist attitude of the traders is unacceptable. Raising an issue of the parking being hampered is something I can agree but simply misusing the term scam is entirely foolish. Next these vendors will want to hold us ransom to ban online shopping and the courier boys because their business is being hit. The customer is a king and if he’s deviating away from these market vendors then they need to introspect why that’s happening and not simply target us to come in the limelight as polls are round the corner,” Mauvin asserted.
He also pointed out that most exhibitions seek a trade licence and operate from privately-owned halls and spaces in Margao and they will more often follow that practice and it will only be a revenue loss to the State and the MMC and SGPDA hence, we cannot bend towards one faction of the market.
Similarly, Rajan Talak, who works with the SGPDA through his NGO – Clean Margao Green Margao has been successful in bringing many reforms in the SGPDA market. He asserted, “Let’s agree to this logic of having no exhibitions cum sale in the SGPDA parking grounds. Then let’s use the same yardstick for all functions on these parking grounds. Let’s ban the Holy Spirit Church feast fair on these grounds, let’s ban the government functions and festivals on these grounds and let’s ban the carnival celebration on these grounds. Is that possible? If parking is a real issue, then why did these vendors and activists not raise their voice in 2006? Why don’t they raise a voice against illegally parked private vehicles and scrapped vehicles along the main road? All this is an election gimmick to be in the limelight. Margao definitely needs to unite for reforms but reforms in the right manner and not target and tarnish people.”
New Market Vyapari Association president Devi Borkar explained to us that the biggest problem is that the new market vendors are not united and have political affiliations to different parties and political leaders.
“We all definitely want a ban on exhibitions because it hampers our business. Also exhibitions are promotional events to activate a product and create awareness and not sell goods. Also a lot trade violations happen at the exhibitions in terms of quality control, rejects being resold, no proper description of the goods, goods not meeting safety and quality standards but these are the real issues that the vendors need to raise and not petty issues terming it a scam when all permissions are granted and proper resolutions are in place and documented. All this cheap publicity definitely fetches us a bad name and we face the backlash then for encroachments, trying to bully the authorities and all these issues,” explains Devi Borkar.
Also doctor turned politician, Dr Babita Angle, MMC chairperson concluded that the MMC and the SGPDA work on the basis of a resolution and understanding of all stakeholders, also the resolution to allow an exhibition is documented at all times and so also all exhibitions granted permission are properly billed while no objection towards lack of parking space has ever been raised. Also the SGPDA parking lot is underutilised at all times, hence it pains me that the chief officer is termed corrupt with a scam, which is the terminology or rather the flavour of this election season.
Angle also stated that she is irked as to how the complaint also carries her name unnecessarily in the issue.
