Retail fish and other vendors from the SGPDA market on Friday demanded that the authority first put the markets in order and keep migrant fish vendors at bay before implementing the hike in the maintenance fees.
While the SGPDA had hiked the maintenance fee from Rs 10 to Rs 50 per day for vendors doing business, the retail vendors agreed to pay only Rs 30 but with a rider that the planning body put the market in order and clear all the migrant vendors from the wholesale fish market.
The vendors said they would not mind paying Rs 30 per day for two months, warning that they will stop if their demands are not met.
A delegation of the SGPDA vendors called on Chairman Krishna Daji Salkar at the PDA office on Friday and submitted their inability to pay the hiked fee. The vendors pointed out that the PDA is not giving them any amenities in the market, saying they have been suffering for want of water and power.
That’s not all. The vendors stated that the drains in the retail market are all choked and the chambers overflowing as they demand to clear the waste dumped around the periphery.
After giving the vendors a patient hearing, the SGPDA Chairman agreed to the vendors' request to fix the fee at Rs 30 per day. He also assured that the PDA would soon clear the power and water dues that would restore supply.
On the migrant vendors in the wholesale fish market, Salkar assured that they have been kept out of the wholesale fish market, adding that agencies such as the Margao Municipality and police should initiate action.
The vendors, however, made a fervent plea to the PDA Chairman to use his good offices with the Margao Municipality and the district collectorate to end vending along the wholesale fish market road.
Retail fish vendor Fatima Cardozo told the media after the meeting that the vendors have agreed to pay a fee of Rs 30 to the PDA on the condition that the retail market is spruced up and the migrant vendors are kept out of the wholesale fish market.
