Locals intervene over the police action taken against the stall owners at Old Goa.
Photo Credits: Manuel Vaz
OLD GOA
With the Old Goa feast fair continuing beyond the deadline of December 5, the Old Goa police initiated action against the stalls, forcing a majority of them to shut down on Wednesday.
However, the panchayat authorities were nowhere in sight when the action was initiated by the police. Sources informed that initially, the police began the drive of shutting down the stalls by orally telling the stall owners to shut down. The police also detained many vendors who were doing business in the open space between the stalls.
However, in the evening, as many stalls were reopened for business the police swung into action and forced the stall owners to shut the stalls with the use of mild force. Locals intervened in the matter and opposed the use of force. However, the police informed that they had told the stall owners to shut down the stalls as the deadline for the fair got over on December 5.
Meanwhile, the Se Old Goa panchayat authorities were nowhere in sight when the police were initiating action against the stalls, prompting a policeman to question the absence of the panchayat authorities. “The stalls are allotted by the panchayat and they should be the one who should ensure that these are shut down when the deadline is over,” a policeman said.
When The Goan tried to contact Acting Sarpanch Vishwas Kuttikar on the phone, he did not answer the calls made to him. However, sources within the panchayat informed that when the deadline got over on December 5 the police had every right to initiate action.
However, the source could not answer why notices to shut down the stalls were not sent to the stall owners. The sources could also not explain why the panchayat did not write to the Old Goa police to initiate action against the stall owners.
Stalls owners question selective targeting by police
Even as the Old Goa police initiated action against the stall owners for operating beyond the deadline of December 5, some stall owners questioned the "selective targeting" of stalls.
One of the stall owners who contacted The Goan over the police action sought to know why some stalls were allowed to operate. “We have been forced to shut down stalls but some stalls are operating freely,” the stall owner informed while pointing to these stalls. "If action is taken, then it should be taken against everybody," another stall owner said.
Meanwhile, several Goans who had come for the fair were left bemused over the stalls being told to shut down and were questioning the reasoning behind the same as usually, they said that the fair is allowed to operate four days after the feast. The people were later told that the fair is officially allowed to operate only one day after the feast.
