Bandra Fair: Talks fail, renters left in the lurch

Talks between former Bandra Fair stallholders and Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount authorities have proved futile for the former While the stall rent was lowered from Rs 3000 to Rs 550 per square foot amid a twoweek agitation the protestersmdashsome of whom had been operating stalls at the fair for decadesmdashdug in their heels Now they will attempt to run stalls allotted via the new tendering system on a sublease basisThe weeklong fair at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount will start on September 8 The church allows around 150 stalls to sell candles flowers food toys and artificial jewellery Many stallholdersrsquo families had been selling wares during the 300yearold fair for generations The controversy erupted on August 11 over the tenfold increase of rent by the church and the new tendering system to allot the stalls by lotteryFormer stallholders protest against the rent and new tendering system at the Basilica of Our Lady of the MountThe rent for stalls was around Rs 250 per sq ft for eight days in 2022 Last year the church increased it to Rs 500 per sq ft which stallholders agreed to pay The church also introduced a colourcode system based on the location and area of the stall where the maximum amount is Rs 3000 per sq ft This means operating a stall with an area of 100 sq ft would cost the owner Rs 300000The protesters demanded that the rent be slashed and stalls allotted only to traditional stall operators instead of resorting to a new tendering system Though the church initially resisted lowering the rents after three meetings with authorities at different levels and the archbishoprsquos intervention the rent was reduced from Rs 3000 per sq ft to Rs 500 per sq foot plus GSTldquoWe fought to lower the rent but the church didnrsquot listen to our request that stalls be allotted only to previous stallholders We were ready to pay Rs 550 per square foot But the church allotted stalls to people unknown to us and even deposited the money Now we are helplessrdquo said Rupesh Gomes a protester He alleged two or more stalls were given to those in same family this year and they were going to sublease themKiran Kolate 62 who used to sell toys at the fair says proceeds used to help pay her grandsonsrsquo school feesChurch authorities told midday that they lowered the rent despite the church incurring a huge loss due to expenditure on infrastructure ldquoWe followed the due procedure for allotment We had a criterion of one person one stall so any adult from the same family could get it Even earlier there were incidents of subleasingrdquo said Fr Sundar Albuquerque vicerector of the churchKiran Kolate 62 who had been selling plastic toys at the fair for 26 years said ldquoAfter 23 days of protesting peacefully we are feeling helpless The earnings from the fair help me to pay my grandsonsrsquo school fees Other needy stall operators like me are now trying to take stalls on a sublease basis from the lottery winnersrdquoHow events unfoldedAugust 11 Former stallholders protested against a proposal to hike the rent tenfold this year and did not allow forms to be distributed The church however clarified that this is a way to recover the costs of improving infrastructureAugust 13 After rounds of meetings the church offered to lower the rent by 20 to 33 per cent The highest rent was lowered from R3000 to R2000 per sq ft Subsequently the lowest rentmdashRs 1250mdashwas reduced to Rs 1000 per sq ft But the protesters did not agree to this demanding that the old stallallocation system be followedAugust 14 All rent slabs were slashed from Rs 3000 to Rs 900 As opposed to the previous system the church opted for unified rates and announced they could not lower the rent further However stallholders were still not satisfiedAugust 22 After 12 days of protest in a letter to the acting rector and vicerector of the church the archbishop said stalls should be rented out at R550 per sq ft on compassionate grounds At the same time the letter mentioned the process for allotment via lottery as followed last year was to be carried outAugust 23 The church started an online system for applying for stalls while physical forms were distributed simultaneously No previous stallholder filled the forms in a show of unityAugust 26The church announced lottery winnersrsquo numbers Protesters threatened to go on a hunger strike However they didnrsquot get permission from the police to carry out the stir on church premisesSeptember 1 Protesters tried to negotiate with church authorities but the talks failed