Review

VENDORS’ LIVELIHOOD AT RISK

Lack of space, poor hygienic conditions and crumbling infrastructure at the various markets in towns and villages across Goa have made lives difficult for the vendors and customers alike. While the vendors are finding it nearly impossible to do business, the customers are worried about their safety. Also, in almost all the places, a similar complaint resonates that outsiders or migrants are taking over the business spaces and the locals are being sidelined. TEAM HERALD finds out how these issues have become irritants for the local vendors and how these are affecting their livelihood

Walwyn D' Souza

These are difficult times for the vendors operating from various market places across Goa. The biggest problem faced by them is getting space to start and run their business.

If an individual has the capacity to rent out a shop and establish a business in the market, then that is the first choice. However, for those who can’t afford to pay the rents and are making a humble beginning with very little investments have had to take to opening up kiosks by the roadside or indulge in street vending.

Those who are establishing businesses within the market spaces, have been doing so by ensuring they have the support of their political masters, as no business can be presently established without having the unspoken ‘protective hand’ of local politicians.

For decades now, the local self-governing bodies have not been able to solve the problem of sub-letting of shops and establishments. Rent or lease agreements are pending for years and while those who had earlier signed the contracts pay a meagre amount, by sub-letting the space they earn high revenues.

This double whammy of locals losing out on opportunities to do business and the revenue loss to the local body needs urgent attention from the political class at all levels, including the State government, which will have to bring laws that ensure locals have the opportunity to establish businesses and greedy selfish people are not able to take advantage of the situation.

Poor maintenance of the markets by the respective municipal councils have made lives extremely difficult for the shopkeepers, who have to deal with leaking roofs and flooded floors.

It’s an unfortunate reality for the vendors and shopkeepers of Quepem, who continue to face hardships, despite promises made years ago. The long awaited new market building inaugurated three years ago, remains closed and the impact on livelihoods has

been severe.

Six years ago, the old market was demolished with assurances that a new facility would be ready within a year. But now after more than half a decade, vendors are still operating under challenging conditions on private land, without basic amenities.

“They shifted us in the temporary space because they wanted to demolish the old market building. We came here six years ago. Since then we have been here only. We don’t have any facilities and no basic amenities have been provided to us. We only come here, sit, sell our goods and go back. Only those who come to the fish market, buy our vegetables,” a woman vendor said.

“There is no toilet facility here. We go far away in the bushes to answer nature’s call. Nobody is concerned about us. Therefore we are left in the lurch for last six years,” she added.

Same views were expressed by another woman vegetable vendor. She said, “We don’t have any other alternative but to sit here and earn our livelihood. We spend the whole day, beating the heat to sell our goods. There is no shelter for

us. We undergo this ordeal for our

livelihood.”

The temporary market lacks essential services like proper sheds, water supply and even toilets. Female vendors are particularly affected, having no choice but to use nearby bushes for sanitation. Being located near the main road, the congregation of vendors here is causing traffic snarls.

Social activist Azhim Shaikh said, “I don’t know why the construction of the new market has been stalled. Quepem Municipal Council is issuing construction licenses to many dwellings and other projects under its jurisdiction. But its own market construction is left incomplete. The municipal authorities should come clear and clarify whether there is a pending legal dispute.”

He asked why the government projects are abandoned. This was not a new project. It was a reconstruction of the old market building.

“In my childhood, I have seen a lot of shops operating here from the ground floor. Vendors now occupy spaces along the roadside, creating traffic congestion, particularly on Sundays. Last week, ambulances had a tough time to attend to an accident call due to traffic snarls. An ambulance remained stuck in traffic for a long time,” Shaikh said.

Despite years of waiting, these shopkeepers are still left in limbo.

In Ponda, the plans of Municipal Council to relocate traditional Goan fruit and vegetable vendors, along with shopkeepers, into a mall-like structure, is being met with significant resistance.

Many vendors fear that the shift will make it harder for customers to access their goods, potentially harming their businesses. To make matters worse, these vendors have been operating out of temporary sheds here for over 15 years and the condition of these structures is deplorable.

The uncertainty surrounding their future, coupled with the deteriorating infrastructure, has left vendors in a difficult position, with many questioning the practicality of the proposed market.

A local shopkeeper lamented that except power connection, there is no other facility. It’s like a cow shed, not a market.

“We can’t occupy spaces in the new market as there is no facility there. The construction of the new market structure is not as per our expectations and we are apprehensive that customers may not turn up there,” he said.

When asked about the next plan of action if the present temporary structure is destroyed, he said that it for the municipal council to decide, because it

was their structure.

In 2009, the Ponda Municipal Council made a promise to the vendors that a new market building, tailored to their needs, would be set up. But even after 15 years, the shopkeepers are still operating out of makeshift temporary sheds.

Customer access remains rare and frustrations are growing as the design initially promised to the vendors has been scrapped. In its place, a new mall-like structure is being proposed, raising fears that it will further reduce customer access. This will impact both - livelihoods and the traditional market culture.

Adding to these challenges, the current market is now overrun, with 90% of the space occupied by migrants, leaving local vendors struggling for space and support. The Ponda Municipal Council has neglected maintenance, with no regular cleaning or upkeep during the monsoon season.

Conditions become worse during rains as water floods the sheds and the basement where fish vendors are seated, turning the market into an unhygienic and hazardous place.

Social activist Viraj Sapre expressed his frustration with the state of the fish market, highlighting the repeated

failures of local authorities to address the issue.

“Both, former CM Manohar Parrikar and current CM Pramod Sawant had assured improvements, but nothing has been done. The market is so filthy and unhygienic that it can lead to the spread of diseases. The Food and Drug Administration Department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board should have inspected the market by now,” Sapre said.

Another social activist, Rocky Dias, echoed these concerns, calling the market’s condition “miserable”.

He noted that despite the construction of the new market, fisher folk have not shifted there, leaving the space in disrepair.

“The old market is dirty, slippery and full of muck. Hundreds of people frequent the fish market, but the conditions make it nearly impossible to go there. Wherever food is sold, hygiene must be maintained,” Dias added.

Both activists emphasised on the need for immediate action to address the market’s poor conditions, calling for regular cleaning and maintenance to ensure

the safety and well-being of the residents who rely on the market for their

daily needs.

The state of the Sangeum municipal market is raising serious concerns, as the lack of basic facilities is affecting both vendors and customers, despite being located below the Deputy Collector’s office.

The market remains largely vacant, with only two or three shopkeepers running their businesses. Most vegetable and fruit vendors have opted to set up shop near the main gate, as customers prefer not to enter the underused building, fearing for their safety. Conditions in the fish market are even more alarming. There are no fans and tube lights dangle dangerously. Foul smell emanating from leaking toilet pipes in the Deputy Collector’s office is making things difficult for customers and fish vendors.

They are frustrated by the municipal council’s inaction against unauthorised fish sellers operating outside the market, which is hurting their businesses and leading to financial losses.

While the market itself lacks basic facilities like restrooms, vendors are at least able to access the toilet in the Deputy Collector’s office. But the overall neglect continues to take a toll on their livelihoods.

Premanand Marathe, a shopkeeper from Sanguem said, “The allotment of shops to us in the new building is pending. We want the possession as early as possible. Most of us have completed nearly 50 years and we want the shops be leased to us as per the previous rent without revising the old rate. Only then we will shift.”

He said that the authorities have been asked to complete the paper work first.

Another local fish vendor said, “Nobody is concerned about our plight. There is no toilet facility here. We have either go top Deputy Collector’s office or the municipal council building. We have told the Sanguem Municipal Council umpteen number of times about providing us with basic amenities within the market, especially toilets. But it has fallen on deaf ears.”

He said that today all fish vendors are sitting on road-side to sell the fish.

“Our demand is that the fish vendors be shifted to the new market and be provided with toilet facilities,” he said.

Similar is the situation at Margao. Shoppers and vendors have expressed displeasure over the unhygienic conditions prevailing at the retail markets managed by the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) in Fatorda, Margao.

These thriving markets are frequented by buyers of seafood, dried fish, vegetables, fruits and meat. However, citizens have raised concerns over the shabby conditions and lack of cleanliness.

The markets have fallen into a state of neglect. People have to grapple with foul odour emanating due to strewn waste that is uncollected. The gutters around the retail fish market are choked with thick blackish waste water oozing out, raising health concerns.

(With inputs from Gauresh Satarkar, Mohit Karangate, Santosh Naik and Karsten Miranda)

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