TEAM HERALD
PONDA: Tension flared in Ponda vegetable market for the second day on Wednesday, after Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) staff tried to erect the damaged boundary wall in the market.
According to reports, the vendors panicked when Ponda Market Inspector Arun Naik, Krishna Naik along with the PMC engineer and a strong police team went to erect the broken boundary wall of PMC market at the entrance of the fish market.
The work was to be undertaken following directions from the chief officer and the PMC.
The vendors gathered at the site and opposed the construction of the broken wall, since one vendor was selling vegetables from inside a private property through the broken boundary wall.
The leader of the vendors, Kishore Mamlekar, said though the vendor was selling from private property, he was paying sopo tax to the sopo contractor.
“On the pretext of protecting the boundary wall, the PMC is harassing vegetable vendors as the vendors are opposing to the hiked sopo tax,” he said.
As tension prevailed in the market, Ponda PI C L Patil rushed to the site to bring the situation under control. Later, the vegetable vendor agreed to a compromise and gave an undertaking that he would vacate the place within four days, while the PMC would make alternate arrangements for him in the market to sell his vegetables.
Earlier on Tuesday, tension had flared up at the Ponda market when a sopo collector allegedly slapped a female vendor and was later assaulted by an irate mob. Ponda police had arrested the sopo collector in this connection.
‘CM to solve Ponda sopo imbroglio’
PONDA: Ponda Market Vendors Association leader Kishore Mamlekar along with four vendors and Human Rights member John Baptist met Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday and apprised him of the hardships faced by the vendors due to the increase in sopo tax. Later addressing media persons, Mamlekar said the chief minister had assured to resolve the problems faced by the vendors within three days. “Parrikar has directed Director of Municipal Administration Elvis Gomes to conduct a survey of vendors sitting in the open market area and those doing business in the market shed, space occupied by vendors to fix appropriate sopo rates, as charged earlier by PMC before auction was tendered to the contractor,” informed Mamlekar. “He also said vendors should be provided with identity cards and the base to charge sopo tax should be established – whether sopo should be paid on daily, weekly or monthly basis by the vendors,” Mamlekar said. When contacted, PMC Chairperson Radhika Naik said the PMC has not received any such order from the DMA.
