Preparation for the annual Mount Mary fair, from Sep 11 to 18, is in full swing with the Eknath Shinde-led government lifting all COVIID-19 curbs on festivals in the state.
Recently, Gokulashtami was celebrated enthusiastically throughout the city while Ganesh mandals are also busy setting up their pandals for the first full-fledged celebration in three years.
Many stalls are erected around the Mount Mary Church in Bandra (West) during the fair and the BMC has begun inviting bids. Like in every pre-pandemic year, the civic body has first opened bidding for the 20 stalls nearest to the church, raising their base price to Rs 97,000 from Rs 84,000. In years past, many of these stalls were sold for over Rs1 lakh. Only religious books and other items can be sold from these stalls.
The BMC has also increased its base price for the remaining 400 stalls to Rs 2,250 from Rs 1,800.
The festival, with a tradition of more than a century, starts on the second Sunday of September. People of all faiths, not just Christians, flock to the event, a big attraction on Mumbai’s social and religious calendar.
The Mount Mary fair is also known as the Bandra fair and attracts at least one lakh people daily. In years past, as many as 430 stalls selling candles, flowers, food, toys and artificial jewellery are set up at the fair.
There are guidelines from the Bombay High Court for the stalls. Accordingly, the BMC has kept 260 stalls for local residents and allowed outsiders to bid for the remainder. Every year, the BMC gets more than Rs30 lakh as revenue from the competitive bidding.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vinayak Vispute said, "We will hold a meeting with the police and the church management to celebrate the fair smoothly. We are also repairing roads and filling up potholes. We will set up booths for coordination between the BMC and the police."
