Saturday Night Market is the famous concept that runs in Goa for several decades, brought to Goa by a foreign national this concept was very well accepted by the locals and tourists alike but this year due to the covid pandemic the Saturday Night Market May not be given the permission to operate by the local panchayats.
Presently Goa has two locations that usually host the Saturday Night Market every year during the tourist season that begins in Goa by Mid October and ends in the month of March.
According to the reports, this year the Saturday Night Markets will not be given permission to operate due to the pandemic. The decision in this regard has been taken by Arpora Nanora Panchayats.
The panchayat of Arpora Nanora will meet next week and will make the final decision on the reopening of two Saturday Night Markets located in the vicinity namely Saturday night market and Saturday night bazaar.
Sarpanch Rajesh Morajkar told TOI he isn’t in favour of the two due to Covid-19, but that a proper decision would be taken at the meet. The organizers of the Saturday night market have applied for permission, and the panchayat has forwarded the same to the block development officer (BDO).
“The government might permit them, but we don’t want the two events to take place as crowding would increase the risk of infection,” he said.
The opposition against the night markets is growing and the panch members also do not want the Saturday Night Markets the year.
Meanwhile, the office-bearer of the Saturday night market said they’re ready to open the market while following SOP guidelines and comply with the protocols.
“We have decided that stalls this time will be bigger in size, and they will naturally act as barriers and help maintain social distancing when attendance is large,” he said. “We have a plan ready to conduct the market with all protocols in place.”
The Saturday Night Market operators are taking the stand saying when all other businesses are allowed to open they why not the night markets? “We see no reasons as to why only Saturday Night Markets are not allowed to open,” he said.
The Saturday night market has stalls set up by a lot of foreign vendors, along with artisans from various parts of the country. It is frequented by niche tourists, both foreign and domestic, for its ambiance, cuisine, and music.
He said that although foreign tourists are not yet allowed in the country due to the ban on international commercial flights, most of the foreign vendors will be able to participate as they are still in India on an extended business visa.
Source: TOI
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