Malls, restaurants and markets were crowded on Sunday. Museums and parks are still shut. The cinemas have reopened but there was no new big-ticket release this weekend. Thus malls and eateries were the main attractions.

The Covid protocols were limited to wearing masks but social distancing went for a toss at several places.

South City mall was busy since morning. By 1.30pm the parking area was full.

Around 5pm, people had to wait for a few minutes even to step on an escalator. The stores, most of which had “sale” posters stuck outside, did brisk business.

“The footfall was around 20 per cent more than the usual weekend footfall, which has also been on the higher side for the past month or so,” said a mall official. The day ended with over 60,000 people visiting the mall, he added.

Visitors at South City Mall around 2.30pm on Sunday. Gautam Bose

Quest mall was also busy throughout the day. “Business was good. Hope this is a pointer to the future. On Sundays, the footfall is usually decent but that often does not translate into business. But today it was different,” said the manager of an apparel store at the Beckbagan mall.

Several electronic appliance stores also come up with “special discounts” in the run-up to Independence Day. One such outlet in the Gariahat area had at least 20 people inside at 4.30pm.

A steady stream of people poured into City Centre in Salt Lake and the crowd swelled in as the evening progressed. By 4pm the parking lot of the Salt Lake mall was full and guards were seen diverting the vehicles headed towards the parking lot.

Sharmila Saha, 22, had gone to the mall for a bit of shopping with friends. She said nearly everybody in their group had been pining to step out of their homes. The group finally decided to do some shopping together and then go to a restaurant, said Saha, who is pursuing a course in Economics at Calcutta University.

“We decided to come here as the mall is open and is airy as compared to the other malls. The pandemic is still on so we did not want to visit a place that has central air-conditioning all around. We will also have dinner before heading home,” said Saha.

More than 30,000 people visited the mall till 6pm on Sunday.

The restaurants were packed throughout the day. Even the post-lunch period —4pm to 7pm — was packed. Around 2pm, dozens of people waited outside Peter Cat restaurant in Park Street. The waiting time was an hour.

A string of eateries on Sarat Bose Road were also packed throughout the day. In the evening, it was hard to find a place at cafes in Southern Avenue area.