Work on bridge may hinder St. Mary's procession

By Afshan Yasmeen

BANGALORE, AUG. 26. The annual car procession to be taken out by the devotees of St. Mary's Basilica as part of St. Mary's Feast on September 8 is likely to be affected this year as the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is carrying out repair work on the Broadway Bridge in Shivajinagar here.

With the construction on, the procession that used to be taken out through Broadway Road, cannot pass through this road now. With no alternative, the church authorities and devotees are ``upset.''

For years now, the St. Mary's Basilica in Shivajinagar has attracted devotees, irrespective of caste or creed. Over one lakh devotees participate in the annual car procession.

Work on the bridge had been pending for years. But it began only last week. And the Mahanagara Palike officers said it would be completed by the end of October.

``The Mahanagara Palike has started work despite knowing fully well that the festivities begin this week. In fact, the church authorities had also written to the area corporator, MLA, MP, and even the Mayor, requesting them to put it off till the festival was over. The sentiments of Christian brethren will be hurt if this century-old procession is impeded,'' said Mr. Adolf Washington, member of the Indian Catholic Press Association.

``There is no alternative route from Shivajinagar for such a mammoth procession. This route has been followed for over 100 years. If religious sentiments have to be respected, this route should be retained,'' he said.

Now, the church authorities have appealed to the BMP Engineer-in- Chief, Mr. Jayaprasad, to stop work temporarily on September 8 so that the procession can pass through Broadway Road.

The Basilica's priest, Fr. Jerome told The Hindu on Sunday that they wanted the work on the bridge to go on. ``But the Mahanagara Palike should have started work either after the feast or completed it before the festivities began. As thousands of people participate in the procession, the construction work will block traffic and it will lead to a problem.''

``We had a meeting with the Traffic Police last week to work out an alternative route for the procession. But we did not succeed because other roads have cables hanging low that will obstruct the procession,'' he said.

The church authorities said they had spoken to the area corporator, Mr. Syed Shujjauddin, who promised them that the construction activity would be stopped for a day.

When contacted, Mr. Shujjauddin said that the construction work had been pending for the past four years. ``The work was approved by the BMP Council only a few months ago,'' he explained.

The project estimated at a cost of Rs.21 lakhs has been awarded to Mecon India Limited and will be completed by the end of October.

The dilapidated bridge used to flood the low-lying areas of Shivajinagar every monsoon. Its retaining walls have collapsed. Recently, an old man drowned in the main storm water drain passing below the bridge, and a child had a miraculous escape. ``That's why we have given the construction work top priority,'' he added.

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