Many men and women whose life and livelihood depend on a thriving College Street have suffered a body blow because of the pandemic.
Some of these people turned up at a programme on Wednesday afternoon to collect new clothes that they would give to their children or grandchildren during the festive season.
In the queue stood Satyajeet Kar, 61, a sales person in a bookstore on Bankim Chatterjee Street.
Before the pandemic set in, his monthly salary was Rs 10,000.
When the shop opened after remaining shut for over six months, his salary came down to Rs 7,000.
He has to make do with the reduced earnings, pay rent for his accommodation on Amherst Street and runs his family in Sankarpur in Purba Medinipur.
“My two sons work at an ice factory in Sankarpur. Their earnings have dipped, too, as the fishing business has taken a hit during the pandemic. So I have to send money each month to take care of my sons and grandchildren. I stood in the queue to collect new clothes for my grandchildren as I cannot afford to buy them clothes,” Kar said.
Not far from Kar, stood Anwara Sardar. Her husband pulls a rickshaw-van on College Street to ferry stationery items and book-binding materials. He earns Rs 200 a day now.
“Earlier, he would earn Rs 400-500 a day. I have two sons. It is not possible for me to buy them new clothes. So I am standing in this queue,” said Anwara. She was accompanied by younger son Feroz Sardar, who studies at a Kolkata Municipal Corporation-run school. They spend the nights on a pavement along Colootola Street.
The programme was organised by former students of Calcutta University who now teach at various colleges and universities. They raised Rs 2 lakh for the project.
Apart from giving new clothes to the 180-odd people who turned up on College Street on Wednesday, the group handed packets containing new clothes to various associations that will distribute them among families in the Sunderbans, Nandigram and Haldia. “Since we have studied at Calcutta University, we can understand how the families whose sustenance depends on a thriving College Street have suffered during the pandemic. We hope our small acts will bring cheers to these families,” said Ram Pralhad Chowdhury, who teaches at CU.