MARGAO: The proposed plan of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to increase rent of the shops in its two municipal markets has been met with opposition from traders from both markets.
While MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar has justified that an increase in rent is required to help MMC deal with the high expenditure incurred due to these two markets, he had also reportedly held a meeting with the vendors of the New Market, and informed them about these plans. However, the vendors have now stated that repairs of the market have to be completed first, before the rent hike is implemented.
Responding to what MMC has suggested, vendors of the New Market reiterated that infrastructure issues like the repair of the shed and the gates of the market as well as the construction of a toilet in the market have to be done first.
In the case of the Gandhi market, vendors have objected to the steep hike and said MMC cannot increase the fees four-fold in one shot.They claimed the hike will affect their business badly and asked the MMC to do it in a phased manner, giving them enough time to deal with the situation.
