Traders gherao MMC chief,CO over levy of fine

Traders gherao MMC chief,CO over levy of fine
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JULY 22
New Market traders on Thursday gheraoed Margao Municipal Chairperson and Chief Officer in protest against the Civic body’s decision to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 on small vendors in lieu of regularization of their boxes.
Sensing trouble, the Civic authorities have assured to consider revision of the fine amount by placing the matter before the Municipal Market committee.
Led by Margao New Market Traders Association President, Vinod Shirodkar, the traders warned the Civic authorities that they will take the law in their hands if any injustice is meted to small time traders in the Municipal market.
What provoked the traders to confront the Chairperson Savio Coutinho and Chief Officer Y B Tawde was the Council’s decision to impose a hefty fine of Rs 10,000 on two small time vendors for regularizing their box structures.
When the traders confronted Tawde, he said that the notice were served to pay the regularization fees, saying the vendors had violated the norms by repairing the boxes without any specification. “These vendors have violated specification of the boxes. The decision was pending for five years and more now”, Tawde explained.
Shirodkar and other traders maintained that imposing a fine or regularization fee of Rs 10,000 is a great injustice on the ST and SC vendors in the market. “These vendors are poor”, Shirodkar said, while warning the Civic body not to harass these small time vendors.
He demanded to know from Chairperson Savio Coutinho whether the decision to impose hefty fines is a ploy by the City Fathers to extort money from these poor vendors at the fag end of their term. “Stop harassing these poor vendors or else we will come on the streets and take the law in our hands”, he warned the Chairperson.
When contacted, CO Tawde said it has been decided to keep the matter in abeyance pending a decision by the Market Committee on revision of the fine amount.
“We have asked the traders to give a representation and the same will be place before the Market committee for a revision of the fine amount”, Tawde said.