Team Herald
MARGAO: A heated dispute over the collection of sopo fees outside Margao’s wholesale fish market erupted on Friday morning, marking the second altercation in three days between the Margao Municipal Council’s (MMC) sopo contractor and the South Goa Planning and Development
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Authority (SGPDA).
The confrontation involved representatives of the MMC’s contracted agency, Wild Security Agency, and the SGPDA, with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on jurisdiction. The situation became so intense that the police had to intervene to prevent further escalation.
Milagres Fernandes, the MMC’s sopo contractor, defended his agency, stating, “We are collecting fees strictly as per the directions issued by the civic body. We have not entered the SGPDA complex. They have no right to collect fees from the retail fish sellers or businesses operating outside the complex. We were awarded the tender legally. SGPDA is harassing us and disrupting our business.”
Fernandes emphasised that the tender process was transparent and that his agency is acting under the explicit instructions of an official order from the MMC Chief Officer, authorising fee collection outside the wholesale fish market.
The dispute intensified after the SGPDA requested Fatorda police on Thursday to prevent the MMC’s contractor from collecting fees on SGPDA-owned property. Despite this, the MMC maintains it has jurisdiction over the roads and spaces outside the SGPDA complex at Madel, Margao.
The MMC’s directive underscores the need for order to avoid inconvenience to the public. The directive also tasked the sopo contractor with ensuring smooth pedestrian and vehicular movement while collecting fees outside the SGPDA fish market.
