Kolkata gears up for Durga Puja rush with special buses for shoppers

The government of West Bengal wants people to forget the woes of Covid and its restrictions that had strangled businesses for 2 years. This year the focus is on enjoying the goodies that any festival can offer. In order to satisf ay the transportation needs of the common man the West Bengal government has introduced a special bus. The intention is to satisfy the desire for shopping spree that the festivities demand. This will help the shoppers to move about and give a push to the shopping. The special bus will operate in the commercial district of the city as announced by West Bengal's minister of transport. He said the buses would be available from September 4 through September 25. This will include weekends and public holidays. These would cover the commercial districts of Gariahat, Shyambazar, and Esplanade. Moreover, between 12 PM and 9 PM, there will be special air conditioned buses throughout the commercial areas of Kolkata. Other routes to be covered would be from places like Esplanade and Howrah to other destinations in all directions. Durga Puja 2022: Kolkata launches special shopping buses for Durga Puja season till September 25.

An official of the West Bengal Transport Department explained that the action of introducing special buses for Durga Puja shoppers was taken after the outbreak of pandemic had put a brake on the festivities in the city. The Covid since 2020 prohibited people from enthusiastically celebrating Durga Pujo. However, this year there are indications that things are much better. In view of the changed scenario, the transport department is taking action to support this. These special shopping buses will be parked in areas where people can utilize the service as a hop-on-hop-off in retail areas. There will not be any additional fees for individuals who use the service.

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I knew him in my school days – he was the in-charge of a Chinese laundry that had rented a space on the main road in the same building in which my family and I stayed on rent. It was in Shyambazar – the time was in the mid-fifties. There was a shooting by the police on agitators who were protesting the hike in the price of tram tickets by one paisa. One of the bullets lodged in the wooden frame of our flat and, the next day, police came to retrieve the bullet and checkup for other damages.

The Chinese laundry was huge – it catered to special clothes and garments especially woolen ones. The in-charge had regular customers and did a reasonably good business. The clothes ready for delivery would be hung in closets that were located overhead. When someone came to take delivery, the in-charge would see the number on the receipt and with a long wooden rod move the sliding closet door to search for the respective item.
Once he found it, he would use the same wooden rod to lower it – the rod had a hook at one end. Some of the clothes would be in glass cases behind the large table that separated the business area. The clothes meant for washing would be taken in a van to the central agency – the van was a modified version of the cycle rickshaw with the enclosed box positioned in front of the cyclist. The cyclist was a Muslim.
The dry cleaners were well known in the locality and, in order to attract more customers, the in-charge had a novel idea. He installed a huge aquarium in the front show case – there would be a flock of young and old watching the fish in the evenings when he would switch on the illumination. After some months, he added another attraction – a stuffed mongoose fighting with a snake. Even though he was much older than me, we were good friends and he was a helpful neighbor as well. We lost contact when my family shifted over to our own house. However, after the Chinese aggression, the cleaners closed down and I lost track of him.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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