Hawkers make merry in the commercial capital on Sundays and holidays, with readymade garments available for sale at every nook and corner of the city.
Even the pavement leading to the historic Lohia Maidan, Margao has not been spared by the unscrupulous vendors, who are believed to have conducted business with patronage from the powers that be and the mafia controlling the illegal activity.
While the infamous Chor Bazaar was restricted to the Old Station road, mostly catering to the needs of migrants, readymade garment vendors and hawkers have now made their presence felt across the city. They sell the goods without any fear of the Margao Municipality or the police and have brought new footpaths and pavements under their business, right from the comunidade building to Govind Poi building and other areas.
With the Margao Municipality closed during the weekends and the City Fathers and the civic babus having no system in place to tackle the hawkers’ menace on Sundays and holiday, the hawkers enjoy a field day in the commercial capital.
Margao Municipal councillor Mahesh Amonkar on Sunday confronted a couple of illegal hawkers around the comunidade building on Sunday. Strange it may seem, but true that some of these illegal hawkers hail from the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and are presently putting up in Navelim.
“How come these vendors from Uttar Pradesh and presently staying in Navelim mustered the courage and guts to operate illegally in Margao. You think these vendors have no godfathers and have simply come on the Margao streets to do business,” Amonkar wondered.
He added: “Margao has been turned into a mini-market on Sunday. Do you think they can do business without these vendors keeping their godfathers happy. Several warnings were issued to these vendors to stop the activity, but in vain.”
Amonkar demanded to know why these migrants have no guts to occupy the footpaths and pavements in neighbouring Fatorda, even as he requested the Margao Municipal Council to wake up and see the writing on the wall.
