he Bicholim fruit and vegetable vendors and the municipality are in a tussle over where to sell goods even as the sopo collector is charging vendors double the amount.
The new municipal market was inaugurated on October 24, 2012, after demolishing the old shops, and the fruit vendors were given space in this market. But after about five to six months most of the vendors abandoned the place given to them and started sitting on the steps, outside the market. When this was brought to the notice of the municipality, they acted sternly with the vendors but there was not much change. “ We are repeatedly asking the vendors to sit inside the market and sell their goods but they are not ready to listen. The municipality has acted on this several times but it has not yielded any results” Bicholim municipal council deputy Chairman, Ajit Birje said. “ If we tell them to occupy the place given to them they abuse us and accuse us of harassing them. We have allotted a very good place for them but they are not ready to conduct their business there. If all of them sit inside then naturally the buyers will come to them in the market and it will also not create any hindrance to the general public,” he added. The fruit vendors who sit outside the market also reserve the place given to them by the municipality and pays sopo at two places. They sit outside but in the evening keep all the belongings at the space given by the municipality. When contacted the fruit vendors said “ We have seen that if we sit on the places allotted by the municipality we suffer huge losses.” Reshma Mayekar said and added, “ Last year during the Ganesh festival, the municipality had confiscated our vegetables and fruits. They charged us Rs 500 to return the goods but we did not pay the fine and suggested they keep it” The vendors feel they do not have any problem to sit inside but wants some other vendors who sell their goods outside to be given a place in the market. “ We are ready to sit inside provided the municipality shifts everyone inside and does not allow anyone to conduct business by sitting outside the market or on the footpath,” she said. When contacted, the sopo collector conceded he was charging double the fees. " It is the look out of the municipality and it is equally true that they do not get business if they sit inside the market," Gaonkar the sopo collector said. market or on the footpath. — Reshma Mayekar, Vegetabel vendor, Bicholim Fruit and vegetable vendors in Bicholim sit outside the new municipal market to conduct business samir umarye bicholim
