MAPUSA
The feast of Our Lady of Miracles, popularly known as Milagres Fest, was celebrated with traditional fervour in Mapusa, with thousands of people from different faiths visiting the Mapusa Church on Monday.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also celebrated his 50th birthday on Monday, visited the Mapusa Church along with Deputy Speaker Joshua D’Souza and offered oil at the statue of ‘Milagres Saibinn’ (Our Lady of Miracles). The feast attracts a large number of Hindus as they believe that Our Lady of Miracles was one of seven sisters who converted to the Catholic faith and refer to 'Milagres Saibinn' as the sister of the Hindu deity 'Lairai' in Shirgao.
Incidentally, the Zatra of Shree Lairai Devi at Shirgao was also celebrated on Monday and both celebrations were held on the same day for the first time in 13 years.
Devotees have been following an age-old tradition of offering oil from the Shree Lairai temple to the Milagres Saibin, while flowers offered by the Milagres Church are offered to Shree Lairai Devi, thereby fostering close harmony among the Christian and Hindu communities.
One of the main attractions of the Mapusa feast is the fair, as stalls were line up along both roads in the church vicinity selling furniture clothes, toys, sweets, grams and home décor.
10 food stalls
removed
Ten Gobi Manchurian stalls which were set up around the Alankar Theatre at the Mapusa Fair were removed by the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) on Monday evening as they did not have the permission to operate.
These stalls were found without a license from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and officials also observed that cleanliness was not maintained in the stalls. The MMC team later removed these stalls from the fair.
MMC Mayor Priya Mishal, Vice Chairperson Viraj Phadke, Chief Officer Amitesh Shirwaikar, Councilor Tarak Arolkar, Sainath Raul, junior engineers, municipal inspectors and employees were present during the drive.
