The maiden attempt by Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) to allocate roadside individual stalls, outside Gokarnanatha and Mangaladevi temples for the 10-day Dasara festival through public auction, helped it net revenue of more than ₹17 lakh.
From the auction of 73 stalls outside Gokarnanatha temple, the MCC earned a revenue of ₹9.58 lakh. From the auction of 47 spaces outside Mangaladevi temple, MCC earned revenue of ₹7.98 lakh. The successful bidders were told to retain the bid amount payment receipt and MCC’s permission at the stall. These documents should be shown to MCC officers when they come for inspection during the Dasara festival, which starts on October 3, MCC officials said.
Following a writ petition by Karnataka Rajya Hindu Jatra Vyaparasthara Sangha, the Karnataka High Court Judge Hemant Chandangoudar on September 26 directed the MCC Commissioner to allocate spaces for stalls on the roads leading to the two temples by following due process of law. Accordingly, MCC held a public auction on Monday, September 30, for the allocation of 106 spaces outside Mangaladevi temple, and 143 spaces outside Gokarnanatha temple.
Spaces left
Following suggestions by the Mangaluru City police, the MCC did not auction 56 spaces, earmarked on the left side of the road leading to Mangaladevi temple from the temple circle, to avoid traffic jams. To prevent congestion on the narrow road leading to Gokarnanatha temple from the temple arch, the MCC did not auction 43 spaces.
The public auction related to Mangaladevi temple was done in the open space of a new petrol pump coming up in the area. The auction was held between 10.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the allocation of 47 spaces on the right side of the road leading to temple. The range of price for the spaces was between ₹3,000 and ₹40,000.
Among the successful bidder included Sourav, a degree student, who paid ₹35,000 for the space where he will set up an ice-cream stall. Because of the decision of MCC not to auction 56 spaces, Shridhar Shanbhag of Madhavendra Juice from Udupi was unable to get the space where he had been setting up a stall for over a decade.
Hence, Mr. Shanbhag was among the street vendors who took part in the auction of spaces outside the Kudroli temple. This auction was held on the premises of Alake Market between 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Before the commencement of the auction, 15 owners of the shops of a complex, adjoining the Gokarnanatha temple arch, gave representation. These shop owners asked MCC officials to allocate to them the 23 spaces outside their shops.
Published - September 30, 2024 09:26 pm IST
