First no-rally day in a week boosts last-minute puja sales
Times of India | 4 October 2024
Kolkata: Shopping hubs saw a significant increase in sales on Thursday, which was the first ‘no-rally day’ in the last five days. Despite the afternoon showers, shoppers flocked to stores, much to the delight of retailers and hawkers.
A series of protests over the last one month has impacted puja business but the situation has now improved, said shop-owners at traditional shopping hubs.“The turnout was good today. Though it is a week day, many people stepped out for shopping as there was no rally in any part of the city,” said Suman Saha, joint secretary of the Gariahat Indira Hawkers’ Union.
Garment seller Dipankar Deb kept his shop open for an extra hour on Wednesday as well as on Thursday. “There was a lull in business in the wake of the RG Kar incident and we would close our shops early over the past two months. The customers have finally returned and we are back to our puja schedule of business,” he said.
Piyali Saha, a shopper from Kalikapur, said: “Devi Paksha has begun and just a few days are left for the puja. Thankfully, there is no protest rally or road closure today unlike what we had been seeing over the last few weeks.” Swapan Modok, a shop-owner in Hatibagan, added: “Our business started taking shape as the number of rallies over the last few days. The roads are clear now and we are doing good business. Even today, shoppers braved the rain and turned up at the shopping zones.”
Diya Nandi, a college student in New Market, remarked: “We were not in the mood for puja shopping this year. Today, I came to New Market to buy some essentials but it was too crowded.” Another shopper Priyanka Das, who came from Howrah, added: “In the last one month, I cancelled my plans to visit New Market several times because of roadblocks but today, I came since there was no major rally. But the shops were very crowded.” Even at Behala market, such was the rush that cops had to create extra pedestrian channels for the shoppers.