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Mumbai: With the dispute over the increased rent for stalls at the annual Bandra Fair next month remaining unresolved, the Archdiocese of Bombay has intervened in the issue by asking Mount Mary church to reduce the cost.
The Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, in a letter to the rectors of the church on August 22, has asked them to charge Rs 55,000 for a 100 square feet stall, instead of Rs 90,000. However, Gracias said that the process of allotment of stalls by lots, a system introduced in 2023, will continue this year.
The eight-day fair will start around the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, or Mount Mary, on September 8, the feast day of Mother Mary. Local families have traditionally set up stalls around the church during the fair to sell food and religious items.
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The church allocates spaces for 147 stalls along the stairs leading to the church. Stalls on the roads outside the church premises are allotted by the municipal corporation. The rent for the stalls along the stairs have increased from Rs 15,000 in 2022 to Rs 35,000 in 2023 and Rs 90,000 this year. These stalls were allotted to families who have been renting it for generations till the church decided to give it away through a lottery.
In his letter, Gracias said that the decision to reduce the rents was based on the recommendations from of Bishop Dominic Savio who was appointed to find a solution to the dispute. Gracias added that any loss to Mount Mary because of the reduction of rents will be borne by the archdiocese. A committee will be appointed to make recommendations for the 2025 fair.
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However, the families protesting against the changes in the rules have declined the offer. A large group protested outside the church on Friday morning Rupesh Gomes, whose family has been renting the stalls for generations, said, “We have been saying that it is not feasible to run the stalls with the new rents. The church has been trying to distribute forms, but we will not allow it.”
Father Sunder Albuquerque, vice-rector of the church, said that the application process has been taken online to stop the protestors from intimidating other applicants. “Their main contention is that they are entitled to the stalls and not anybody else. They should file their applications and try their luck. Why should 150 people hold the whole fair to ransom?” asked Albuquerque who added that the online applications will be closed on Sunday afternoon and the lots drawn on Monday.
The long dispute had led to calls for the archdiocese’s intervention in the issue. In a letter to the archbishop on August 18, community group Watchdog Foundation had said that the rationale provided for the hike, like infrastructure improvements, had not alleviated the concerns of those affected. Vinod D’Souza, a Bandra resident, who supported the families, said, “It is sad that the locals have been denied a facility they had for generations. Many of the stall holders are senior citizens and for many of them this is the only source of income during the year.”
The dispute had also led to demands for the shutting down of the fair. The Mobai Gaothan Panchayat and the Bhumiputra East Indian Samaj, which represents the East Indians who consider themselves as the founders of the religious tradition at Mount Mary, said that the fair has become more about commerce and less about devotion.
