Shoppers brave traffic challenges, make most of mid-week holiday on Mahalaya
Times of India | 3 October 2024
Kolkata: Shoppers made the most of the mid-week holiday on Wednesday as major shopping hubs like Hatibagan, New Market and Hatibagan saw a huge turnout since Mahalaya morning.
After a month-long decline in business in the wake of the R G Kar horror and the protests thereafter, sales have surged over the last couple of days. Even on Wednesday, a huge rally was organised from College Street to Esplanade that impacted traffic movement in central Kolkata.
But thousands went on a shopping spree in the Esplanade area. Guard rails had to be put in place to segregate the marchers from the shopping hub.
“The number of shoppers has dropped significantly compared to previous years. Normally, the market used to get so crowded a month before puja that it would become hard to walk. But this year, it’s been noticeably quieter,” said a shopkeeper. Sabir Ali, who has a garment shop on SN Banerjee, added: “In the last few days, people are coming for shopping, but it’s not enough to cover the huge loss that we faced over the last month.”
Lata Bera, who came from Bansdroni, said: “This year we started shopping late, but today it was too crowded to check all items.” Ishiqa Saha, who came from Tollygunge along with her mother, said: “Pre-puja vibes are missing this year. We came today because we needed to buy something, but it’s not essential for this puja. We could even skip this shopping too.” Purnima Ghosh, who came from Ashoknagar with her family members, was found walking in the protest rally at the Dorina crossing. “This was our first visit to Kolkata for puja shopping because we were not in the mood for shopping. We saw the protest rally approaching Esplanade, so we joined in the call for justice,” she said.
Nasim Akhtar, a hawker in Esplanade, said: “This year, business has been down. At the same time, the demand for justice is justified.” There were frequent transport disruptions on Wednesday as well. “It took us almost 3 hours to reach here from Sonarpur because of the traffic,” said Mampi Das, a shopper. Another shopper Gopa Sengupta said: “The series of rallies has added to the concerns, making it difficult for citizens like us to navigate the city. I cannot blame the protests entirely because I do believe in their cause. I will celebrate this year, but with a different message.”
Suman Saha, a trader at Gariahat market, said, “On Wednesday, the turnout was better. The protest rally that took place in another part of the city today did not hamper business here.” Garment shop owner in Hatibagan Ranjan Roy added: “We are satisfied with the turnout.”