The defunct fire hydrants at the Margao New Market.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
Just a recall. On December 26, 2023, a major fire engulfed a couple of shops at the congested Margao New Market, destroying property worth lakhs of rupees, and triggering demands from all quarters, from market traders to citizens, to beef up the fire safety mechanisms in place in and around the markets.
A year later, on December 18, 2024, a high-level meeting was held at the South District Collectorate to review a host of issues, including the issue of the fire tender system at the New Market, Margao, and the proposal to construct a water tank to enhance fire and emergency services in the area.
The meeting, which was attended by Margao MLA, besides Additional Collectors Srinet Kothwale and Uday Prabhudesai, was reportedly informed that neither the overhead water tank was in place, nor were the defunct fire hydrants made functional.
That’s not all. Even the new water pipeline, which was supposed to be laid around the new market, has yet to take shape in the last year, raising questions over the seriousness of the authorities and the powers that be in improving firefighting arrangements in the congested markets.
Leave alone the firefighting mechanism, even the Margao Municipal Council has failed to implement a host of measures recommended by the Fire Services after the December 26 fire incident in the New Market. Recommendations to put up signboards showing the entry and exit points, and to keep the entry and exit to the market free from all obstructions, seem to have been confined to the record books.
Given the situation, the Margao MLA is believed to have told the authorities that he would discuss the issue of constructing the overhead water tank at the Pick-up stand with the TCP Minister, Vishwajit Rane, since the land falls under the jurisdiction of the TCP department.
The question that has remained unanswered is how the authorities failed to ensure that the recommendations made by the District Disaster Management Authority and Fire Services were implemented on priority in and around the fire-prone, congested Municipal markets.
