CCP inspects Panaji market for illegal power connections

PANAJI: Considering the imminent danger of fire to the Panaji municipal market complex, the Corporation of the City of Panaji has begun inspections and cracking down on illegalities.
CCP commissioner Ajit Roy said the commission is cracking down on vendors who have fitted extra bulbs, fans and illegal electrical connections. Since trade agreements have not been signed with vendors, the corporation has not officially allotted space to any vendor, Roy said.
“We have not issued any NoCs to vendors for private connections.The market is not private property, but public property. Besides being illegal, these are also a safety hazard. The corporation provides sufficient light to vendors,” he said. Some illegal connections have been done away with, he said, adding that vendors were warned ahead of time. He didn’t divulge the number of connections disconnected. “The work is ongoing,” he said.
The Panaji municipal complex is not fire safety compliant. During an inspection, the directorate of fire and emergency services found that that the complex didn’t have the required fire safety equipment with some of it stolen and non-functional. The inspection report with the lacunae were submitted to the CCP in the past but is yet to be complied with.
Any fire outbreak in the complex could affect hundreds of vendors and shoppers. Roy agrees this is a problem. “We are sitting on a tinderbox. The fire audit pointed out many shortcomings. We are trying to adhere to the recommendations,” he said.