The civic body has issued its policy for the Bandra fair this year keeping in mind high court orders asking it to ensure the eight-day celebrations do not blocks roads and hamper traffic.
This year, the BMC has focused on the convenience of pedestrians and the safety of visitors while drafting the rules for stalls and hawkers around the Mount Mary Church, as is indicated through the draft.
The week-long festival will be held between September 11 and 18 this year.
To curb illegal stalls around the church during the festival, the BMC has put in place a number of regulations. While it has made provisions for allotting 280 stalls this year on the Mount Mary road up to Kane road, the number has reduced considerably from the previous year when there were about 350 stalls on the streets. This year the stalls will be allowed only on one side of the street, to prevent pedestrian congestion.
None of the stalls can be larger than 1.5 feet in width and length. The BMC will deploy eight encroachment removal vehicles to regulate hawkers around the clock. The vehicles will work in two shifts, between 8 am and 4 pm, and 4 pm and 11 pm. Police personnel will help deal with illegal hawkers.
While residents had consistently complained about the rise in pollution and garbage generated in the area, the BMC has mandated that no food will be sold at the stalls. The BMC has disallowed merry-go-rounds and giant wheels from being placed on the street.
In October last year, in a hearing of a petition made by a Bandra resident regarding the menace illegal hawkers cause to pedestrians, the court had directed the BMC to come up with a policy to tackle the issue, reduce the number of stalls given permission to sell goodies outside the church, and ensure that the policy is pedestrian-friendly.
