Bandra Fair row: Even cardinal’s plea fails to move renters

The ongoing dispute between the authorities of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount and prospective stall renters shows no signs of resolution, despite efforts by Oswald Cardinal Gracias to mediate. On Thursday, Cardinal Gracias addressed a letter to the rectors of Mount Mary Basilica, urging a reduction in stall rent costs on compassionate grounds. However, this gesture has not appeased the stall renters.

The renters have raised concerns, alleging that the church authorities and organisers of the Bandra Fair are attempting to replace longstanding stallholders with new ones. They claim that the introduction of a token and lottery system is a strategy to facilitate this change, fostering discontent among the existing renters. The situation remains tense as negotiations continue without a clear resolution in sight.

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The candlelight protest carried out by the renters

In response to the church's decision and the lack of resolution to the issue, the stall renters carried out a peaceful candle march on Friday afternoon around the Basilica.

This year, the annual Bandra Fair will take place from September 8 to September 15, celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Mount to commemorate the birthday of the Virgin Mary.

In the letter dated August 22, Oswald Cardinal Gracias addressed Father Vernon Aguiar - rector and Father Sunder M Albuquerque the vice-rector regarding disputes about the operation of stalls during the Mount Mary Feast days at the Basilica. He stated that he had appointed Bishop Dominic Savio Fernandes to review the situation and who had made recommendations. Considering these, Cardinal Gracias has directed that the pricing for the stalls be set at R500/sqft (+GST), a reduction from the previous year's Rs 550/sqft (+GST), to be based on compassionate grounds.

Last week Father Albuquerque told mid-day, "The rents are already slashed and they cannot be reduced further otherwise it will badly impact the recovery of costs incurred by the church on infrastructure. I hope we solve the issue peacefully and there won't be any delays in starting the procedure of allotment of stalls."

With reference to that the Cardinal in his letter further stated: "Any financial losses incurred by the Basilica from this price reduction will be covered by the Archdiocese of Bombay. Once all the accounts of this year are completed, I will appoint a committee of experts to provide further recommendations for the following year."

"In 2022, the rate was Rs 290/- per sqft. In 2023, it soared to R590/- per sqft, and this year, they've raised it to Rs 649. These rates include rent, stall erecting, and GST. We faced significant losses in 2023 due to these high rates. Traditionally, stall distribution was done by presenting your old rent receipt and paying for the current year. However, last year, Father introduced an open token system to bring in new people and phase out the old, reducing opposition and allowing them to charge whatever they want," said Rupesh Gomes, a stall renter.

"This new tendering system will wipe out those who have been running these stalls for generations," said Gomes, who is the third generation in this business. "My family has been operating a stall since as far back as 1947."

Another stall renter Sashant Abreo said: "The church is being unfair to us. We have had these stalls for generations now. We have realised that these are just ways adopted by the church office bearers to oust us and get new stall renters, who will readily pay more money to them. We will oppose them until they revoke this new tendering system."