Bandra Fair 2026: BMC assures no disruption to stalls near Mt Mary Church

Vendors seen preparing for the fair at Mt Mary, Bandra, on Saturday. Officials say only encroachments were razed. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

With the week-long popular Bandra Fair set to begin at Mt Mary church this morning, the BMC on Saturday assured devotees and local residents that all the stalls in Mt Mary's vicinity that were auctioned by the civic body earlier this week will operate as usual, and the fair is not being interrupted in any way.

The update from BMC came amid reports circulating on social media that civic and police authorities had taken action against the stalls and were "removing" them. Social media reports alleged that the action was taken despite the stalls being paid for.

BMC had auctioned stalls on four roads for the fair - Mt Mary Road, Kane Road, Rebello Road, and St John Baptista Road.

H-West ward Assistant Commissioner Dinesh Pallewad told Sunday mid-day, "The fair will go on just like every year and will be open for all Mumbaikars to come visit. Any action to remove any stalls in the surrounding area might only be due to encroachment. No permitted stalls have been removed at the fair."

A resident from Bandra shared, "On Wednesday, due to the special mass, there was overcrowding at the church. This is a usual scenario before the Mt Mary festival begins. It is possible someone alerted the police about the crowd."

Congress corporator Karen D'Mello said, "There are some stalls that sell worship offerings throughout the year around the church. Then there are stalls that BMC sets up for the Bandra fair. Once the fair starts, usually these smaller round-the-year stalls stop operating their business. On Wednesday, the police had removed those stalls, but briefly. I explained the situation to the police, and all stalls were allowed to operate from the next morning. The fair's stalls will begin selling worship offerings and other items on Sunday, there is no disruption."