Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Broken tiles, a dirty and slippery floor, overflowing chambers, a stinking environment et al welcome fish lovers to the South Goa Planning and Development Authority's (SGPDA) mega retail fish market in the commercial capital.
The massive market and its spacious sheds housing fish, vegetable, fruits and dry fish vendors, besides a meat stalls lane may perhaps qualify the SGPDA market as the State’s biggest market complex. Renovation and re-development of fish market shed on the lines of the Dubai fish market had spruced up the fish market around 2018-19.
Half-a-decade down the line, the fish market is craving for attention, throwing up a host of questions over the factors contributing to the neglect, apathy and indifference and the delay in initiating measures to stem the rot. One, is the prevailing market condition a result of the standoff between the fish vendors and the SGPDA management over the payment of maintenance fees? If yes, why has the government failed to step in to ensure that shoppers do not suffer for no fault of theirs? Assuming the SGPDA is facing a financial crunch to take up the maintenance work, why has the government not provided a one-time grant to the SGPDA to bring about a turnaround in the mega retail market? Many tend to blame the fish market’s state of affairs on the stalemate over the payment of maintenance fees, but questions are raised over the stinking environment surrounding the market, with mini-waste mounds taking shape along the boundary.
Indeed, the upkeep and maintenance of the SGPDA mega market retail complex is one issue that has kept coming up to haunt the SGPDA from day one, since the time the market was commissioned over two decades ago. The SGPDA had to even face the question whether a Planning and Development Authority, whose main role is to look after the city’s planning than running the markets, would do justice to the market upkeep and maintenance.
In fact, former Town and Country Planning Minister Atanasio Monserrate had once suggested to the government to hand over the SGDPA retail and wholesale fish markets to the Margao Municipal Council to run the operations, but in vain.
Says president of Margao Fish Vendors Association, Felix Gonsalves: “The fish vendors have never opposed payment of maintenance fees to the SGPDA. But, we want to know the services the Planning body will provide to the vendors and the visitors to the market”.
He added: “We have impressed upon the SGPDA to stop the retail sale of fish in the PDA’s Wholesale fish market. A parallel retail fish market is run in the wholesale fish market, adversely affecting our retail fish business. How can we commit to pay higher maintenance charges when our business is down due to the parallel retail fish market conducted in the wholesale fish market”.
SGPDA Chairman, MLA Krisha Daji Salkar, however, said the PDA is on the job to bring about a turnaround in the retail market. “The PDA is preparing estimates for the proposed repair and maintenance of the retail market. I have discussed with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to sanction a one-time grant to undertake the repair work’, Salkar said.
He, however, said the fish vendors should extend their cooperation to the planning body in the regular upkeep and maintenance of the retail market. “The PDA had revised the maintenance fees, but the vendors have opposed the fees. We hope that at least after the repair and renovation work, the vendors would see reason and pay the revised maintenance fees”, he added.
