Thin attendance on Bandra fair Day 1

Thin attendance on Bandra fair Day 1

Devotees pray at Mount Mary Basilica at Bandra on Monday, the second day of Bandra fair

The first day of the eight-day Bandra fair on Sunday saw almost 50% drop in footfall to the Basilica of Mount Mary.
"Normally, you would see around 40,000 to 50,000 people coming here particularly during the weekends. But Sunday being Visarjan, most people stayed indoors and around 15,000 visited the shrine," said Aniceto Pereira, vice-rector at Mount Mary Church.
The 300-year-old tradition, the fair attracts a large number of non-Christians too. Though there is no official survey done, church authorities keep the figure as high as 70%. "There are around 30% Christians coming to the fair, while the rest are from other faiths," said Pereira.
Apart from the regular devotees, BJP leader LK Advani visited the fair on Monday.
"I studied in St Patrick School in Karachi. I always talk about it to people. I am here for a convention. Shaina NC and Ashish Shelar informed me about this and so I came here," said Advani.
When asked about Advani's visit to the vice-rector in the backdrop of the communal violence bill, Kandhamal riots, Pereira said, "There are other platforms like the Parliament to raise such issues. I am not here to give a political statement from a shrine. If he had some intentions with which he has come, I do not know. We see him as a person who had come to seek blessings," said Pereira.
Hawkers were hit because of less visitors on the first day.
Due to lack of the devotees, hawkers said that they suffered the most. Devanand Nagabathula, who has been selling handicraft items for the past 12 years, complained of the lack of planning. "We take loan and put this up. You have Ganpati, Ramzan and all the other fairs happening. Why are there prohibitions for this one?" he asked.