Bicholim: Fruit and vegetable vendors at the Bicholim market have urged the Bicholim Municipal Council (BMC) to provide electricity connections. They said that poor lighting forces them to shut their stalls after dusk, resulting in losses despite paying sopo tax.“We pay the sopo tax, but there is no electricity in the market. We are forced to close our stalls before nightfall, which directly affects our earnings,” said Maya Chari, an oil vendor.Vendor Sunil Patil appealed to the BMC to provide a dedicated electricity connection for traders operating in the vegetable and fruit market.Social activist Sachin Mayekar said vendors depended on lights installed on the roof of the first floor, which were too high to provide adequate lighting at ground level.Mayekar said all halogen lights installed in the market remained non-functional for years. He said that due to the absence of proper electricity, some vendors reportedly drew power from nearby shops to operate lights, fans and electronic weighing machines.He urged the municipality to provide electricity connection points for vendors and replace the defunct halogen lights within three days. He said if the BMC failed to act, he would raise public donations to buy and donate the lights through the local MLA.Activist Raam Shirgaonkar said the municipality should ensure basic infrastructure for small traders, adding that basic amenities such as electricity were crucial for the market’s smooth functioning.
