Facelift for mega retail fish market could be a reality

File photo of SGPDA retail market

MARGAO 

The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) has expressed its willingness to give the mega retail fish market a face lift if the vendors cooperate with the planning body by paying enhaced sopo.

SGPDA Chairman and  MLA Krishna Daji Salkar further informed that the ills plaguing the PDA wholesale fish market relating to hygiene  will end once the state-of-the-art wholesale fish market takes shape. He said around 75 per cent of wholesale fish market is getting ready in the next two months, adding that phase-II of the project will be taken up after the completion of phase-I.

He told the media on the sidelines of the Saras festival that the SGPDA has worked out a plan to bring about a turnaround at the mega retail market on condition the retail vendors cooperate with the PDA by paying the sopo charges. 

He said repeated pleas made by the PDA to the fish and other vendors in the retail market to pay the enhanced sopo has fallen on deaf ears as a result of which the planned face lift proposed in the mega market is kept on hold. “We had told the vendor to pay the enhanced sopo charges, but they do not want to pay more than Rs 10 per day. This amount is negligible considering the maintenance charges the PDA is required to foot every day”, he said.

Salkar added: “The Margao Municipal Council is charging the SGDPA a daily garbage collection fee of Rs 5,500. There are other maintenance issues that are being addressed by the PDA in the market every day. We cannot take up the work of the upkeep and maintenance of the mega retail market with individual vendors paying sopo fees of Rs 10 per day”.

The SGPDA Chairman said the PDA is in touch with the vendors to achieve a breakthrough so that the mega retail market gets the much-needed face lift. “It is the interest of everyone, including the vendors, PDA and the visitors should get the face lift”, he said.

The retail fish vendors had amongst other things said that they are ready to pay the enhanced sopo fees in the retail market on condition the  SGPDA cracks a whip against the illegal retail sale of fish in the wholesale fish market.

Meanwhile, Salkar said the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation has expedited the work on the state-of-the-art wholesale fish market. “Once  work on the phase-I is  completed, we will shift the wholesale fish market operations into the building under construction. This will facilitate the GSIDC to take up the phase-II work on the project”, he said.