Many standalone shops remained shut during the 3pm to 5pm slot on Monday and ones that opened were deserted.
Only bazaars and liquor stores did see some buyers turning up in the afternoon. But owners of several other stores said they were likely to shut shop for an indefinite period in the coming days.
The 7am to 10am window is not of much use for them. The staff at many stores, as well as hawkers around the city, come from the fringes of Calcutta. Many take local trains to the city and back home. Opening a store at 7am is challenging. Even if they manage, there is hardly any visitor early in the morning.
The manager of a menswear store in south Calcutta did not open the shop at all on Monday. The shop used to remain open from 11am to 8pm.
“There is no point opening early. We are not selling essential commodities. Nobody comes before 11.30am-noon. To remain open only between 3pm and 5pm will also be futile. Two hours is too short a time to do business. Peak summer afternoons are also lean for business,” said the manager.
Closed shops along Park Street on Monday afternoon
Some of the standalone stalls in the Oberoi Grand arcade had opened during the 3pm to 5pm slot but there was hardly any visitor.
The pavements on both flanks from the Gariahat intersection bore an eerie silence around 3.30pm on Monday. The pavements are usually chock-a-block with hawkers, selling everything from innerwear to melamine dishes. But on Monday, most stalls were shut in the afternoon as they were in the morning.
“I come from Baruipur (in South 24-Parganas) on a train. It takes me at least 90 minutes to reach Gariahat. It is not easy for me to open at 7am. Even if I do, who will come to buy?” asked a hawker who sold women’s bags at Gariahat.
“The afternoon slot is too short. Moreover, the number of women and college students is virtually zero,” said the hawker.
A queue outside a liquor shop in Kasba at 3.15pm
A store in north Calcutta had sought permission to allow staff in around 2.30pm to allow the staff to be “up and running” from 3pm. But cops are said to have denied the leeway.
Bazaars were busy during the morning window. In the afternoon window, only some stalls had opened. At the vegetables corner of the Gariahat market, only a couple of sellers were seen around 3.15pm. A handful of buyers were in the market.
Alcohol shops, unacquainted with early morning business, are also having to tweak their schedule. A store in Alipore had opened by 7.30am on Monday. There were multiple visitors during the morning slot. A couple of visitors had dropped in on their way home from morning walks.
“Two of us live nearby (in Taratala and Kidderpore). They came early and opened the store,” said an employee.
At another liquor store in Kasba, there was a small queue in the afternoon, as there was one outside a store in Ballygunge.