Margao: Regular vendors of the fair of the feast of Holy Spirit Church, Margao, are upset over the curtailed space allotted to them by the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) for the stalls to be erected for the fair to be held from May 15. The fair will be held from May 15 to 21.
A group of aggrieved vendors marched to the MMC on Thursday to meet the chief officer and the chairperson. Both of them were not available in office.
Speaking to Times of India the vendors said that while they were allotted 3×2 sq m area for the stalls last year, this time the allotted space is 2×2 sq m. This area, they said, will be insufficient for the vendors to display their items in the stalls, and demanded that an areas of at least 6 sq m area to be restored. Over 250 vendors participate in the feast fair. The vendors have threatened to boycott the fair if their demand is not met, the vendors told reporters.
Last year the MMC had collected revenue of over 20 lakh in the form of fees collected from the vendors for a period of seven days.
The demarcation of the area allotted for the stalls is under way at the South Goa planning and development authority (SGPDA) ground. An interior road has also been identified by the MMC for erection of stalls on the sides, should the need arise, it was informed.
The fair is being held at the SGPDA ground following a high court order directing that no stalls or structures shall be allowed to be erected for such fairs on the main Panaji-Margao road, upto the old market circle, the road leading to Margao city and the road leading to Ponda. The court directed that the feast fairs shall be held on the SGPDA ground, the road leading to Colva, the ring road and an internal road.