Panaji civic body seals 11 more shops

PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) sealed another eleven shops in the Panaji market on Wednesday.

The CCP had already sealed 25 shops on Tuesday in a drive launched to take possession of unutilised shops in the city market in an attempt to regulate market affairs.

CCP commissioner Elvis Gomes, speaking to TOI, said that altogether 36 shops have been sealed up to Wednesday evening and that the drive will continue till affairs regarding most of the 95 shops found unutilised by a CCP survey are regulated.

"On Wednesday fewer number of shops were sealed than on Tuesday because many of the owners of the unutilised shops came and occupied their shops on Wednesday hearing of our drive. But this will not stop the CCP from taking action. We will ask them to prove their ownership. The drive will continue till we regulate matters regarding all 95 shops found unutilised," Gomes said.

Gomes further said that "ultimately there will be public auction of the sealed shops". All the sealed shops were occupied, according to CCP officials, but were not functioning.

As per the CCP survey there are nearly 95 shops, which are non-operational and the tenants have also failed to prove their ownership over these shops.

The decision to seal all these shops from the city municipal market was taken in the recent market committee meeting, after the corporation received a poor response from the market tenants over signing of new lease agreement.