Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar with officials of the MMC and SGPDA at the wholesale fish market.
MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council and the SGPDA may find a solution to the issue of parking of fish trucks on both sides of the wholesale fish market with the fish traders expressing their willingness to pay parking fees to the SGPDA if their vehicles are allowed to park at the PDA market,
The wholesale fish traders under the banner of Margao wholesale fish market Association, however, has refused to provide two labourers to the PDA to clear the waste from the wholesale fish market on the ground that traders are paying a hefty fee of Rs 500 per hour to the PDA to conduct business inside the market.
When the issue of fish truck parking on both sides of the wholesale fish market road came up discussion at the meeting of stakeholders called by the Margao Municipal Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar at the Municipal hall on Wednesday morning, Wholesale fish market traders Association president M Ibrahim made a fervent plea to the SGPDA to allow parking inside the wholesale fish market after business hours on payment of nominal fees.
SGPDA Member Secretary Sheikh Ali said he would convey the suggestions of the fish traders to the SGPDA Authority to take a decision and to fix the fees since the PDA had in the past banned vehicular parking inside the wholesale fish market. “We are ready to pay nominal fees to the PDA if our fish vehicles are allowed to park inside the market. Many a vehicle coming from other states with fish have no parking. The PDA can charge nominal fees on these vehicles and allow to park inside the wholesale fish market after business hours”, Ibrahim said, adding “Why should the fish traders provide labourers to clean up the market when they pay fees amounting to Rs 500 per hour to the PDA”.
A visibly agitated Ibrahim sought to blame the SGPDA for the total mess in the wholesale fish market, saying that 90 per cent of the business inside the market is illegal.
In fact, he charged that extortion is rampant in the wholesale fish market, pointing out that illegal business reigns supreme inside the wholesale fish market.
