NT Reporter
Margao
Margao Municipal Council (MMC) chief officer Madhu Narvekar said on Tuesday that a meeting will be convened with market inspectors to assess the situation following escalating tensions in the Gandhi Market over sopo collection.
The issue arose after the MMC market inspector, accompanied by individuals believed to be employees of the sopo contractor, allegedly demanded additional fees from shopkeepers, claiming encroachments.
“I will conduct a review meeting on Wednesday with the market inspectors to deliberate on the sopo issue and resolve it,” Narvekar told ‘The Navhind Times’.
Shopkeepers at the Gandhi Market, including the former deputy chief minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Ajgaonkar, have refused to pay additional sopo demanded for areas allegedly encroached upon. They said that while they are willing to face action from the MMC regarding encroachments, they will not pay extra sopo to the contractor.
The situation escalated into heated exchanges on Monday, following which the sopo collectors left the site. Shopkeepers alleged that the contractor’s employees did not possess identification cards or official authorisation to collect sopo and claimed that political interference had led to harassment. “There were complaints from the sopo collector indicating that shopkeepers were refusing to pay the sopo. Consequently, I instructed the market inspector to initiate a drive to investigate the matter,” Narvekar said.
However, when asked about the presence of the contractor’s employees with the market inspector and the absence of any authorisation letter, the chief officer did not provide a satisfactory explanation.
