Team Goemkarponn
VASCO: All vendors affected by the devastating fire at Vasco’s Sunday Market will be accommodated in a newly planned market structure by mid-December, Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar said on Wednesday.
Salkar said the new structure would be constructed on the available land within the Sunday Market premises, ensuring that no affected vendor is left out and that traders can resume their businesses at the earliest.
He said the revised plan was finalised after consultations with traders and vendors, who were taken into confidence before the proposal was submitted to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant for approval.
“When we realised that we might not get structural safety clearance for the first floor of the market building affected by the fire, we discussed the matter with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and coordinated with GSIDC to work out an alternative arrangement. We prepared an effective plan to accommodate all vendors on the available land below and presented it to the vendors. After they approved the proposal, we submitted it to the Chief Minister, who also gave his approval,” Salkar said.
He said the government would now initiate the tendering process, with a short tender expected to be floated within the next two days. Construction work would commence immediately after the quotation was approved.
“We have ensured that all vendors will be accommodated in the new market by mid-December. Since this is a government project, the work has to be carried out through the tendering process. We will expedite the process so that the vendors can return to business at the earliest,” he said.
Explaining why the option of accommodating vendors on the fire-affected first floor had been dropped, Salkar said the intensity of the blaze had raised serious concerns about the structural safety of the building.
“The fire was so massive that there were chances that the concrete slab and the steel reinforcement inside could have weakened. We did not want to take any chances, as that could put vendors and visitors at risk and lead to another tragic situation in the future,” he said.
The proposed arrangement is aimed at providing a safer alternative for the affected traders while ensuring their rehabilitation within the Sunday Market premises. The government is expected to expedite the process to meet the mid-December deadline.
