MARGAO: South Goa District Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) failed to come to a consensus on the sopo rates as the wholesale fish vendors walked out of the talks during the meeting on Thursday, even as the Authority discussed plans to shift the market for completion of construction work.
Major issues were discussed at the board meeting of the SGPDA which included the plan to shift the wholesale fish market from Mungul for a period of one year to facilitate the construction of a new modern fish market.
SGPDA Chairman Krishna Daji Salkar also held meetings with the SGPDA wholesale market vendor association, Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) and the Cutbona Fisheries Cooperative Society (CFCS).
All the discussions were not smooth as the vendors of the SGPDA retail market walked out after failing to come to an agreement regarding the Authority’s decision to hike the sopo rates.
While Salkar stressed that the present sopo rate of Rs 10 was not enough to take care of maintenance issues like cleaning and paying of electric bills, the vendors demanded that SGPDA address all of their demands first.
In response, Salkar assured that they will be provided with better facilities and long pending repair works at the market will be carried out within a month’s time but he insisted that the vendors cooperate.
Salkar pointed out that the retail market has a pending water bill of Rs 1 crore from the PWD and via the one-time settlement scheme, they have to pay only Rs 21 lakhs now.
Regarding the wholesale market, the board members discussed two alternate sites, one near the Kadamba bus stand and the other near the Konkan Railway Station, where the market can be shifted to, until the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) completes the construction of the new market.
