Protests take a bite out of retail, F&B businesses ahead of Durga Puja

It's a scene unfamiliar to New Market.

- ISHITA AYAN DUTT & SHARLEEN D'SOUZA

The flow of customers at this giant shopping arcade from the colonial era has dwindled to a trickle. Shop owners are idling, and cars breeze along nearby Lindsay Street, otherwise a torment for commuters.

The red-brick, Gothicstyle marketplace, formerly known as Sir Stuart Hogg Market in central Kolkata, dates back to 1874. It has long been a treasure trove for budget-friendly shoppers, even as swanky outlets have sprouted across the city.

From readymade to unstitched garments, flashy costume jewellery to silver classics, and gourmet food items to fish- it's a paradise for compulsive and impulsive buyers alike. But with just a month to go for Durga Puja, West Bengal's biggest festival, the narrow alleys lined with shops are sparsely populated.

"I don't know the reason, but people are not coming to the market," said a salesperson at a saree and lehenga store.

A black banner seeking 'justice' from the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front at the market's entrance paints the picture of a city engulfed by protests.

Kolkata has been on the boil. Since the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-owned RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the city has risen to demand 'justice' for the victim with demonstrations, graffiti, street plays, and more. Opposition parties are playing catch-up.

At the receiving end are retail and food & beverages (F&B) businesses, especially with Durga Puja round the corner.

"This is peak time for puja sales. Daily sales should have hit ₹50,000 by now. Instead, they are languishing at ₹5,000, with stocks piling up," rues the owner of a children's garment shop at New Market.

Another fabric retailer in Kolkata said: "People who buy fabrics usually keep a buffer of one and a half to two months. The festive season looks like a washout."