Goa is getting decked up for yet another Exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier. But revolt is brewing among the traditional stall owners who sell chourico pao and chonne , and have been denied stalls this year at the Exposition venue. Agnelo Rodrigues reports.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE 16th solemn exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier are progressing on a war footing as Goa gears up to welcome an estimated 30 lakh pilgrims. Devotees from across the globe with lakhs from the country are expected to throng Old Goa during the 43 day exposition period which will open on November 21 and go on till January 2, 2005. The body kept in a silver casket with an illuminated glass window at the Basilica of Bom Jesus will be taken out in a procession on November 21 to the Se Cathedral, just across the road in Old Goa for public veneration.

STALL DISCORD
Unveiling the organizational plans the Exposition Commissioner Bosco George informed that eight sub-committees were working to ensure the smooth running of the event. But all's not going too well for the organizers, as the traditional stall owners who put up kiosks every year during the festival are crying hoarse for not being granted stalls. Though the government has planned to put up around 1,300 stalls selling eatables, curios, etc, the locals are up in arms as this year as the sanctioning of the stalls is being done by an ‘incompetent' committee. After a High court order the Sarpanch and the Deputy Sarpanch of the Old Goa Panchayat were included in the committee.

FINAL TOUCHES: The silver casket containing the body of St. Francis Xavier being spruced up for the Exposition.

Ms. Victoria Fernandes, the St. Cruz MLA who met the North Goa Collector S S Keshkamat in this regard demanded that the traditional vendors be given due prominence. “They have thrown out genuine stall owners. Ladies who depend on this source of income have been denied stalls on the ground that they had sublet the stalls earlier. I will make every effort to see that all the traditional stalls are accommodated,” she said.

Incidentally, the event this year coincides with Goa's peak year-end tourism season and the 10-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI) scheduled to be held in Campal, at Panjim, from November 29.

Due to the heavy influx of devotees expected at this Exposition, the government has made various changes in the traffic movement leading to Old Goa.

Road access
In order to relieve congestion on the Patto-Ribandar road, the government is constructing a new 10-kilometre bypass road on National Highway-4 A from Merces-Ella sector via Kadamba plateau to Panaji which is likely to be ready by November 20th. Beautification work - repairs to pedestrian walkaway on either side of NH4A passing through the Old Goa church complex - is being undertaken.

Since the area within the old Goa church campus is being declared as a no-drive zone, except for emergency vehicles and those with special permission like the special green coloured vehicles for the sick, devotees have either to walk the distance from the parking lot to the church or use the shuttle service.

Forty Kadamba shuttle buses will operate at 5 to 10 minutes interval from the parking lots to the Exposition area. While a shuttle service will move in a circular route at Old Goa to make it easy for pilgrims to alight and board the shuttle at will, shuttles will also be available from the Pilgrim accommodation to the Exposition area. Passengers will be charged a fee of Rs 2.

Three separate bus stands around Old Goa will accommodate a total of 650 buses. Another three parking lots will accommodate 700 four-wheelers and 1500 two-wheelers. Parking for VIPs, the sick and handicapped will be arranged near the Se Cathedral.

Waterway
The Goa Tourism Development Corporation will operate an inland waterway transport between Panaji and Old Goa during the Exposition period. The cruises would directly touch the Old Goa jetty behind the Se Cathedral. The ferry service will be available every hour from Panaji to Old Goa jetty from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Return ferry service will also be available from the same point. The ferry service will levy a fee Rs 15 per person per trip.

Railways
All Konkan Railway Corporation trains entering Goa will make an additional stop at Karmali station during the Peak days of the Exposition, from where devotees can avail of the shuttle service to reach the churches.

Accommodation
Two camps, one with 13 sheds and one with 15 sheds, are also being erected. Each shed will accommodate 100 pilgrims. Besides, halls and rooms are being arranged at various premises including the Vocational Training Centre, Old Goa Education Institute and Jesus and Mary Convent. A fee of Rs 5 will be charged per head per day for a maximum of five days on non-peak days and three days on peak days. The Goa Tourism Development Corporation is undertaking bookings for accommodations.

Fire safety
The state government has geared up like never before because a massive fire that engulfed the Professed house of Jesuits, adjacent to the Basilica on October 21, earlier this month. Upgrading fire-safety for the Exposition, the Old Goa Fire Station will get an additional fire tender. Importantly, the pandals fixed at the Basilica will be treated with fire retardant material. While the firemen will be assisted by 30 Home Guards, there will also be 10 fire points with fire extinguishers at various locations. Two water tanks of 5000 litres capacity will be installed and wall to wall erection of stalls will be restricted to 10 shops with segregation of 1.5 metre fire break.

First Aid
First Aid will be given free by the Directorate of Health Services, Vintage Hospital and Apollo Hospital. Wheels chairs for the sick and disabled will be provided by Social Welfare department, Archaeological Survey of India and church authorities.

Security
For the first time in the history of the Exposition, every visitor to the Se Cathedral and the Bom Jesus Basilica would be checked through a metal detector for security reasons of the importance of the sacred relics. A total force of 1,195 policemen will handle law and order, traffic, security and other responsibilities during the Exposition at Old Goa.

With all this in place, the government is all geared up to handle the vast multitude of devotees that are likely to venerate the sacred relics. The saint's relics, which are contained in a sealed glass urn, are exposed every 10 years for veneration and the last exposition was held in November 1994.

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