MAPUSA: Situation turned chaotic at the Mapusa market after it was found that the 5-meter space which was cleared for the movement of emergency vehicles on Thursday was occupied by vendors on the weekly Friday market day. When the Market committee and Merchants Association learnt about it, a team was deployed evict the encroachers but being a weekly market day, the number of vendors were more as compared to any other day.
To clear the pathway, the MMC had shifted clothes and fruit vendors to one side as they had earlier occupied space right in the middle of the road. This created confusion among the other vendors as many them who were allotted a fixed space on the market day every Friday over the years had no place to sell their wares. With no other option, they squatted all over creating confusion for the city fathers.
“How are we supposed to know that the MMC has decided to clear the pathway and shift the vendors. I have been coming to the Mapusa market since 2010. I have my products and have NOC of the Textile and Handicrafts Department. For the last several years, I have been sitting at a given space and today when I went to the market, my area was already occupied by other vendors. As a result, I occupied the space which was open and now the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) staff is asking me to move from here. How are we supposed to know what the MMC has decided? They should have issued notices to the vendors or should have informed us last Friday because that’s the only day I come to the market,” a vendor pointed out.
