The annual eight-day Bandra Fair began on Sunday around the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount. However, people who attended the fair noticed the large number of empty stalls along the path leading to the shrine.
While the church said that the stalls were empty because the payments were delayed, one group of stall holders said it was the consequence of the dispute over the higher rents and the new rules for allotment of the spaces.
Of the 147 stalls along the path, at least 30 were vacant. Old timers said that this was the first time they have seen empty stalls at one of the biggest such festivals in the city.
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After opposition to the increase in rents from 15,000 in 2022 to Rs 35,000 in 2023 and Rs 90,000 this year, the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, had asked the church to charge Rs 55,000 for a 100 square feet stall. Many stall holders kept away, claiming that the rents were still too high. The stalls were allotted through an online lottery without giving a preference to the families that have set up the stalls.
Empty Stalls At Bandra Fair Empty Stalls At Bandra Fair Empty Stalls At Bandra Fair
According to stall holders who took part in the allotment process, the results of the first draw of lots was announced on Monday. A second round was organised later during the week for stalls that remained vacant. Rupesh Gomes, whose family has been renting the stalls for generations, said, “We were told that all the stalls were taken. However, the presence of empty stalls shows that the price announced by the archbishop was still too high. The people who were allotted the stalls did not claim them,” said Gomes whose group wants the rents to be fixed at the 2022 rates.
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Father Sunder Albuquerque, vice-rector of the church, said that there were 202 responses to the second round of allotment for 35 stalls. “The payments for some of the stalls did not come through and that is the reason why some stalls were vacant. The allottees respected us by not occupying the stalls,” said Albuquerque who added that there were worries that the dispute over the rent would disrupt the fair. “It is under control.”
Gomes said the vacant stalls were a result of the price hike and tendering system. “Even after 2nd lots people found it expensive and stalls are empty which never happened in history. People used to fight for inches of space. Now the stalls are unclaimed. If this continues then Bandra fair will die one day.”
