Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police to conduct a joint survey on hawkers in Gariahat, south Kolkata

During the pandemic, police stations collected data on hawkers in their respective areas. The present exercise by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police is to find out whether there are more hawkers than the numbers registered during a survey in 2015. Such an exercise will help them to identify hawkers who have encroached on roads or are occupying more space than allotted. It will begin with Gariahat in south Kolkata and move out to Hatibagan and New Market. Officials of KMC and police representatives met with hawker leaders at the civic headquarters to fix the dates for the survey. Incidentally, hawkers have already taken over most of the footpaths. As a police officer said - “The number of current hawkers will be compared to the 2015 data. It is apparent that there has been a rise. With this survey, we will be able to quantify the gap.” Survey to identify hawkers encroaching on Kolkata roads starts on Wednesday.

Hawkers encroach on footpaths and force pedestrians to walk on roads, even at the cost of their lives or limbs. It was necessary to ensure “at least walking space” for pedestrians to protect them from road accidents. A senior official of KMC said - “The hawkers who are found to be sitting with the wares on a road will be asked to pack off immediately. Those who occupy more than onethird of a pavement’s width will be asked to remain within the space specified for them.” It seems the Town Vending Committee took the decision to keep two-thirds of the width of footpaths free. Hawkers have almost completely taken over the footpaths in Gariahat, Hatibagan and New Market.

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Shoppers enjoy last minute Puja shopping in Gariahat, New Market and Hatibagan

With a few days left for the Durga Puja, the markets and malls across the city of Kolkata wore a festive look. There were crowds of enthusiastic puja shoppers, many of them without masks. The focal points were in Gariahat, New Market and Hatibagan. People arrived early in the day and kept increasing as time passed. Many of the shopkeepers at these markets kept their shops open for a longer time to take advantage of the rush. Shops that sold clothes, jewelry, bags and crockery were a huge hit amongst the shoppers. Even the food stalls were kept busy making rolls and spiced cold drinks. The customers included both shoppers and passersby. Similar scenes were witnessed outside the Esplanade metro station with people making a beeline for New Market. As evening descended, the crowd grew in size. A senior official of South City Group said - “The Saturday footfall was around 1.2 lakh. Going by the trend till evening, today’s count should be more.” another official of Acropolis Mall, said the entire weekend saw an impressive turnout. “This week we have seen 3 per cent more footfall and sales than 2019.” Kolkata sees rush on last Sunday before Puja, malls crowded, restaurants chock-a-block.

There was heavy police bandobast to ensure that the traffic was on the move, especially at the Gariahat intersection. The civic volunteers lifted the nylon ropes to allow people to cross the roads. Once in a while, an officer would reprimand a jaywalking pedestrian. In places like Gariahat and New Market, the pavements were jam packed with not an inch of space on the pavements. Restaurants near the shopping hubs did roaring business and witnessed a never-ending queue of people. Similar was the experience on Park Street. Obviously, there was happiness all around. A restaurant in Deshapriya Park had several people waiting outside, in queue. As the director of a restaurant admitted - “Our outlets in New Market and Hatibagan have been witnessing a rush even during the lean hours. Basically, there is no lean hour.”

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Rain cannot dampen the spirit of Puja shoppers 2022

Thousands of Puja shoppers braved the rains and swarmed malls and markets. Even people from nearby districts travelled to Kolkata to pick up the best on offer and make bargains. The shops in the Esplanade area were overflowing with shoppers. People traveled for hours by bus to arrive at their destination in the Lindsay Street and New Market area. Carts that sold ice creams and cold beverages did brisk business. Shoppers had to avoid the sea of umbrellas. In Gariahat area there were stalls that sold trinkets were busy as were the sari stores. The parking lot of South City Mall was packed and many cars had to park in other locations. Brisk business in malls and markets ahead of Durga Puja. Business was brisk and sellers were happy at the jump in sales.

Many of the shoppers made a beeline for the food courts, where available, to taste the exotic dishes. There was a wide variety of Indian and foreign dishes on offer. The general manager of one of the malls revealed that ethnic wear, denim and jewelry were the top picks. Many shoppers look for bargains in the end of season sale. Incidentally, food was part of the agenda of many shoppers. Eateries were busy throughout the day.

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Kolkata loves variety in foods and the Kokattans have their favorite food joints

I did my school and college education in Kolkata and left the city in 1967 after getting a job in Nashik. Since then, I have lived in Nashik – the land of grapes, onions, the Godavari River and the Kumbh Mela held every 12 years. I have realized that the food joints of the 1960s still survive in Kolkata and have their share of patrons. I suddenly came across this story on 8 heritage restaurants from Kolkata and their iconic dishes. It brought back memories. The list includes two of my favorites. One of these is Aminia restaurant in the New Market area. In my college days (in 1960-61), I used to go there for a cup of its special tea. The cost was 12 paise and its taste really special!! Aminia came into existence on the Independence Day of India. Another of my favorite joints was the Indian Coffee House on College Street opposite Presidency College. This was the meeting place for the intellectuals of Bengal. Manna Dey sang a beautiful song “Coffee Houser sei addata nei aar nei.” It gives a vivid description of the life of youth in the 1960s – their ideals, visions and disappointments.

Other popular food joints are Peter Cat on Park Street described as one of the oldest restaurants in Kolkata and as famous as the Howrah Bridge. Another is Flury’s. This is a Swiss bakery also in Park Street. It has been there since 1927, the time of the British Empire. The third is 6, Ballygunge Place, a restaurant located in one of the historical places of Kolkata. Its popularity stems from its rustic ambience and Bengali meals. Incidentally, rasogolla and sandesh continue to attract everyone and Chinese foods are also getting noticed.

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Business mood in Durga Puja markets in malls and footpaths

This year, Durga Puja starts on October 1 and the markets are in business mood. Apart from malls, the shops in New Market, Gariahat and other footpaths are gearing up to woo the customers. While the shopping malls display pomp and show apart from glamor, the roadside shops have an advantage of their own. Their overheads are less in comparison to malls. Hence, they can offer products at much lesser prices and customers can even bargain to get the items at cheaper rates. This makes for fair competition and there is all round satisfaction. The common people are the patrons and they have to weigh their wants with their finances. While the rich can afford to gorge on pizzas and ice creams in air-conditioned comfort between shopping, the not-so-fortunate ones have to make do with jhal muri and tele bhaja.

There are the two famous malls in south Kolkata. One is the South City Mall on Prince Anwar Shah Road, the other is the Acropolis Mall near Kasba. This year, the Covid threat perception is considerably low. As a result, businesses expect good returns. The rush has led to traffic jams in and around these malls. Obviously, the festive season has arrived and footfalls are on the rise. These are in thousands. The authorities of the malls confirm this. Puja early shoppers crowd Kolkata malls, markets to trigger revival hopes. This festival brings out the best in not only fashion but also in the general outlook of the people. Some of them work out plans to move away from the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy the holidays among nature.

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Durga Puja shopping and the associated madness

Durga Puja is the biggest festival of Bengalis. It is an occasion when families go out to buy new clothes and the latest trends in fashion come into view – the fashion is not restricted to the fairer sex but is equally applicable to the males. As has been the tradition for ages, the fashion style is dictated by screen stars. And, there are any number of outlets in the form of malls where one can get lost in the varieties on offer – if the credit card is handy, no one will return disappointed.

It is generally believed that shopping malls and credit cards are associated with the rich and the nouveau riche and, for the others, the shops scattered all over the city are the answers. These shops are generally localized in the Hatibagan area of the north, and the Gariahat area in the south apart from the famous Hogg Market (or New Market) in the center of the city on Chowringhee Road.
The marketing strategy in all shops is more or less the same – in malls it is the ‘buy one, get one free’ culture and in the shops, it is all about discounts and, in some cases, a bottle of cold drink is thrown in for good measure to influence one’s buying decision.
The annual buying spree does not end with clothes but spills over to accessories – this is especially true for the women and girls but, the men also edge their way into the slot. While the women go in for artificial jewelry, the men opt for more masculine accessories – like belts and goggles.
And – at the end of the day, there is always the inevitable stopover in some restaurant to take the weight off the tired legs and enjoy some delicious mouth-watering snacks.
However, with the advent of online shopping, much of the excitement and charm of Durga Puja shopping would vanish. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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