The ever-swelling stream of devotees to the Vincentian Ashram, where a portrait of Christ allegedly bled on August 16, has been stretching the residents' patience, with the visitors' chanting and their very presence turning the idyllic street into an unseemly tourist spot. The din of vehicles ferrying devotees to the chapel and the litter they leave behind, they add, has left them completely distraught.

Before the `miracle', the chapel used to receive about 500 visitors a day. Post-miracle, however, their numbers have more than trebled. Now, with the word spreading even abroad, the ashram receives an incredible 2,500 devotees daily.

But if Fr Jose Vettiyankal of the ashram proudly rattles off these figures, residents are on the brink of lodging a formal complaint with the localauthorities for the chaos it has wrought. Says a resident, insisting on anonymity: ``We are woken up at 6 am, when visitors begin arriving for the `Adoration Hour' and there is a stampede-like situation on the first Friday of the month, when special prayers are offered. The vehicles which bring visitors to the ashram have made our road extremely congested and what's worse, they don't leave immediately but instead wait to ferry the visitors back.''

Cribs the mother of a six-year-old: ``The entire street is flanked by vehicles, making it difficult even for the school bus to pick up my son on time.'' Other residents add that devotees who come armed with edibles and other paraphernalia for marathon prayer meetings litter the street with wrappers and leftovers besides allowing their children to defecate on the street.

Residents also point to three large-screen television monitors which have been mounted in the ashram's compound for devotees who cannot find a place inside the chapel. ``Can you imagine the crowdthis draws,'' asks an annoyed septugenarian, who resides a couple of buildings from the chapel. The ashram, which has been receiving healthy donations since August 16, including those from foreign tourists, has also tied up with a local cable television network to relay the proceedings to nearby suburbs from dawn to dusk.

Of course, the ashram authorities claim they are careful to observe discipline and keep the peace. Fr Jose Vettiyankal told Express Newsline: ``There is a regular stream of people coming here to offer prayers in silence. In fact, neighbours are cooperative since they realise the significance of the miracle.'' To placate the more vociferous residents, the ashram has discontinued the use of loudspeakers during prayers.

Chembur police, who say they are aware of the `miracle', add that they cannot take any action till residents lodge a formal complaint.

The Mumbai Archdiocese, whose jurisdiction extends from Mumbai to Thane and Raigad district, is more circumspect. Spokesperson FrPraveen Fernandes told Express Newsline that the Archbishop's House had issued a circular to all parish priests and heads of religious institutions on February 17, 1999, saying: ``Neither the Eparch, which is the governing authority of the Syro-Malabar faith (under whose jurisdiction the ashram falls), nor the archbishop has given rights to the priest of the Syro-Malabar sect to perform spiritual ministries outside their centre on behalf of the Latin Church faithful.''

About the `miracle', the archbishop has expressed concern at the ``unauthorised'' preaching at the chapel which has been attracting followers of the Roman Catholic Church as well. He says phenomena like this purport to offer instant blessings and divine panacea which is tempting, Fr Fernandes explains. But for the residents of 12th Road, Chembur, panacea is, well, but a miracle away.