Hundreds of people were chanting angry slogans and walking through Chowringhee Road on Tuesday evening.

Not far from them sat rows of deserted shops and small traders counting their losses.

The eve of Mahalaya is usually one of the biggest shopping days ahead of Durga Puja.

“After 45 days, business had just started to look up. I had hoped to buy new clothes for my children this weekend. Now, I don’t think I can,” said Firoz Alam Siddiqui, one of four employees at a women’s footwear shop on Bertram Street.

On Mahalaya-eve, the stall would sell around 60 pairs. On Tuesday, the number was “less than 10” till 7pm.

Bertram Street connects SN Banerjee Road and Lindsay Street.

A week before Puja, it often takes 30 minutes to cover the 400m stretch on foot because of the multitude of Puja shoppers who descend on it. You have to dribble past people and make your way.

Tuesday evening was different. Bertram Street was without the jostling crowds but unhappy.

Humayun Place was busy but not anything like it usually is. Lindsay Street, slightly more upscale compared to the other two, was deserted.

Cries of “We demand justice” rang in the evening air.

The traders feared Mahalaya will also hurt them. The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front has called for a“mega rally” from College Square to Esplanade on Wednesday afternoon.

The scenes on Tuesday evening were a throwback to weekends in August and September when protest marches and meetings crippled business in the markets in and around the city.

“I also want justice for the victim. I want the most severe punishment for the culprits. But I also want my employees to earn some incentive for Puja. With the protests intensifying again, it is uncertain,” said Debu Bhattacharya, who owns a garments shop in New Market’s new wing.

The New Complex, which stands at the intersection of Bertram Street and Humayun Place, houses scores of shops across several floors. The corridors of the building were deserted on Tuesday evening.

Sk Arif Ali, owner of Indian Saree Emporium on the first floor of the building, was sitting at the empty store with his brother.

“As business picked up since the third week of September, we were ruing the fact that Mahalaya fell on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) this year. But now, it seems irrelevant. Even three consecutive holidays will be of no use if the shoppers do not turn up,” said Ali.

“When the junior doctors lifted their cease-work after the police commissioner was removed, it gave customers reluctant earlier a reason to step out.... We are scared of huge losses again,” said Ali.

Chandan Gupta, who sells phuchka on Humayun Place, spent most of Tuesday evening waiting for a customer.

“Kya karega (what to do)?” he told this newspaper, finger pointed at his forehead.