After four days and meeting with higher-ups, the maximum rent stallholders must pay to operate at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount during the upcoming Bandra fair was slashed from Rs 3,000 to Rs 900 on Wednesday. As opposed to the previous system, the church decided to opt for unified rates and announced they could not lower the rent further. However, stallholders are still not satisfied and want the old stall allotment system reinstated.

Long-time stallholders have been protesting ever since the church decided to implement a new system to allot stalls as well as revise rents to meet the expenses of infrastructure. The fair will begin on September 8 and the church started distributing forms on August 11. Approximately 150 stalls are allowed every year on the steps to sell candles, flowers, food and toys and many of the stall holders’ families have been running them for generations.