PANAJI
Proving that the Covid-19 pandemic could not dampen the spirits of the devotees, the annual Bodgeshwar zatra witnessed a large number of devotees even this year. The Bodgeshwar deity is believed to be one of those Jagrut Devasthans in Goa and every year people come in large numbers even from the neighbouring states. The devotees from the neighbouring states, Sindhudurga and Belgavi, also visited the fair this year despite the pandemic.
The North Goa Collector and District Magistrate, R Menaka (IAS) visited the Devasthan along with her family on Sunday to seek the blessings of the deity Bodgeshwar. The temple committee vice president Deepak Mhadeshri, secretary Ashok Govekar, the temple Pujari and others were present on the occasion.
The North Goa District officials have allowed only 75 shops this year, owing to the pandemic. The Mapusa Municipality has fixed SOPO and waste/garbage tax for the stalls. The food stall and toy stall SOPO tax is Rs 3,500 and waste tax is Rs 1,500, making the total tax Rs 5,000. The utensils stall has to pay Rs 3,000, Khaje and sweets stall has to pay Rs 2,000, so is the cloth stall. Other small stalls have to pay a total of Rs 1,500 as tax whereas very small stalls have to pay Rs 300.
