Benaulim locals irked by panchayat's failure to rein in hawkers, threaten to join trade

Colva: Fed up of the nuisance created by migrant hawkers on the beaches of Benaulim, the villagers have decided to encourage unemployed Goan women to take up hawking business along the beach stretches.

“With the panchayat not willing to discuss the resolution it took to ban migrants from setting up businesses or any tourism-centric dealings in the village, we have now decided to get unemployed Goan women willing to hawk wares to do so on the beach.

If non-Goans are allowed, why not Goans,” Seby Fernandes, who is part of the village’s agitation against migrants.

On October 20, Benaulim gram sabha had adopteda 10-point resolution, one of which was stopping hawking on the beach. Ten out of 11 panch members had lent their support to the cause and said that the resolution would be placed before the panchayat body meeting and action would be taken, so far there has been no progress on this, fisherman Jose Fernandes, who is leading the agitation, said.

Benaulim sarpanch Ezlina Fernandes said that the lawyer submitted his report on the resolution on Friday and is yet to be distributed among members. She also said that the panchayat adjourned Saturday’s meeting as the secretary was absent and Monday saw no elected quorum.

Subsequent to the gram sabha, the panchayat had sought legal advice on the resolution. Villager Rudolf Barretto, author of the resolution, alleged that the panchayat appeared to be obsessed with either seeking legal opinions or the migrants. “Leaving aside the constitutional aspect, there are resolutions regarding illegal stalls and illegal letting out of premises. These could have been easily tackled since they very much fall with the ambit of the Panchayat Raj Act,” he said.