The lunch tables are empty at restaurants.
Cinema halls have suspended the noon show.
The blistering assault of the sun has affected the city in ways more than one.
The Met office recorded a maximum temperature of 39.4 degrees in Alipore on Tuesday. It was four notches above normal. A heatwave alert is already in place for the districts in south Bengal. The days in Kolkata are also set to get hotter, according to the forecast.
The Telegraph brings snippets from a parched city.
Bite of the heat
The lunch crowd has all but disappeared, said more than one restaurant owner.
Oasis, on Park Street, can accommodate around 130 diners at a time.
Only 10 to 12 people are turning out for lunch now.
“Until a month ago, even on a weekday, we would see more than 50 per cent of the capacity. People from offices in and around the Park Street-Chowringhee-Esplanade-Dalhousie area would form the bulk of the lunch crowd on weekdays. But now, even regular patrons are telling us that they are having a very light lunch, maybe just salads and lassi,” said Pratap Daryanani, the owner of Oasis.
Around 2pm on Tuesday, Park Street was so deserted that it felt like the clock turning back to the afternoons during the Covid-induced lockdown.
Dinner was much better in terms of footfall, said restaurateurs.
Summer special mocktails and fresh lime soda with black salt and sugar were in demand.
Beer is the more popular booze. “Seven out of 10 drinkers are having beer now. Bars across the city have stocked up on beer,” said Sudesh Poddar, the president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India and the owner of Manthan, Songhai and MS Bar and Lounge.
Beer sales have surged by almost 50 per cent, said Daryanani.
Green coconut sellers did brisk business across the city. A seller opposite Lake Mall had two varieties, priced at Rs 40 and Rs 50. A huge pile of shells around the cart indicated the demand.
“I have been selling around 100 pieces every day. Till the first week of April, the number was barely 50,” said Sk Jakiruddin.
No show
Basusree in Hazra has a capacity of 750 people. On Monday, less than 30 tickets were sold for the noon show (from 11am). From Tuesday, the noon show has been suspended on a temporary basis.
“There are hardly any people on the streets,” said Debjiban Basu of Basusree.
Menoka, on Southern Avenue, also with a capacity of 750, registered less than 50 viewers for the noon show (12pm to 3pm) on Tuesday. “I will scrap the noon show for a while from this week. The hall will open with the matinee show,” said Pranab Roy, owner of the hall.
Arijit Dutta, the owner of Priya, has already done away with the noon show. Priya is now opening with the matinee show.
But Dutta did not blame the weather alone. “The weather is very harsh. But the dearth of good films is also to blame,” he said.
More curd for bear
The Alipore zoo authorities have introduced a slew of measures in the wake of the rising Celsius.
Several enclosures have been modified with temporary shades.
The enclosure for tigers, chimpanzees and zebras are among them.
“The food given to our animals are being tweaked according to suggestions by the vet. Watermelon, cucumber and curd are being given to some of the primates. Curd is also being given to sloth bears and Himalayan black bears,” said a zoo official.
“We are also using water sprinklers in the aviary to keep the birds comfortable,” said the official.
Rest
Several young men, dressed in office formals, were spotted under the canopy of trees in the Rabindra Sarobar area.
Most of them are feet-on-street sales executives looking for a respite from the sultry conditions.
“Riding a bike wearing a helmet is almost impossible in this weather,” said one of them.
“We are making phone calls from here. We are trying to fix appointments after 3pm,” said another.