Only 11 Stalls Out of 22 Allotted to Vendors at Open Auction conducted by Temple Authorities
Mangaluru: Following the report published by Mangalorean.com ( Ref: Mangaladevi Temple Nets Rs 9 lakhs from Auction of 71 Navarathri Stalls-Muslim Traders Not Allowed
) it is now learnt that only 11 stalls out of 22 put under the hammer were allocated to vendors at the open auction conducted by Mangaladevi Temple authorities for lack of bidders on Saturday, October 14. The Temple had already auctioned 71 stalls on October 10 for the Navarathri fair commencing from October 15. Of the 11 successful bidders on Saturday, six were Muslims.
The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District Jatra Vyparastara Samanvaya Samiti had been petitioning the government and holding protests alleging the temple management was not allowing non-Hindu vendors to participate in the auction since October 10. Following the Samiti demand, the district administration on Friday directed the temple management to hold an auction for the remaining 34 stalls in an open auction.
Of the 34, only 22 were found suitable to erect stalls and auctions were conducted accordingly. The temple received Rs 55,000 in revenue for 11 stalls. Only 13 vendors participated in the auction. Over Rs 9 lakh was earned in the October 10 auction, up from Rs 3 lakh being earned earlier when stall allocation was entrusted to an individual. K. Vinayananda, a temple functionary, said the temple has earned nearly Rs 10 lakh from two rounds of public auction.
“There was no discrimination on a community basis among vendors during the October 10 auction either. No Muslims took part in it,” he said. One of the six vendors included Mohammed Sharique. “I have been placing my dry fruits stall for more than two decades. I am happy to get the allocation in the second round,” he said.