Bargaining bouts are back at Gariahat. Retailers at malls are working overtime. App cabs are making multiple trips to and from shopping hubs.

Scenes that used to be familiar in the run-up to the festive season had gone missing from the city for the past one-and-a-half months.

This weekend threw up the first signs of a turnaround. Puja shoppers came out in numbers and the buzz was back at the markets.

Around 3.30pm, Gariahat was its former chaotic self. Walking through the pavements was a challenge because of the crowd. The same would feel like a breeze because of a near absence of shoppers. Many stores would be deserted.

On Sunday, the honking of cars, the shouting contests between the hawkers and the bargaining bouts with shoppers combined to create the sensory assault that Gariahat is synonymous with.

The stores were busy. Benarasi Kunja, a store near the Gariahat intersection, sold around 85 saris on Saturday and some 45 till 4pm on Sunday.

September had started with an extended weekend. On Saturday (August 31), Sunday (September 1) and Monday (September 2, a holiday), the store had together sold less than 50 saris.

The protests against the RG Kar brutality found expression in multiple rallies that choked major city roads. Gariahat was no exception.

“The old customers have started pouring in. We are also seeing walk-in customers again,” said Arindam Saha, co-owner of the store. “Even 10 days ago, the old customers would be wary of stepping out because of the disruptions. Many of them feared getting stuck on the road,” he said.

A stone’s throw away, Amit Roy, who sells women’s bags on the pavement, was surrounded by prospective buyers. “Things started to change from Friday evening,” was all he could say in between dealing with customers.

On September 8, when thousands of people walked from Gariahat to Rashbehari Avenue on Sunday evening demanding justice in the RG Kar case, Roy was sitting alone at his stall.

A tour of New Market also threw up the signs of a turnaround. Continuous streams of people kept moving in and out of Humayun Kabir Sarani and Lindsay Street. From a vantage point, New Market looked like a sea of black heads around 6.30pm.

Sabir Ali, who works at a store selling denims at Shree Ram Arcade, said he had sold around 100 pairs on Saturday and till 6pm on Sunday. “We look forward to these two months. This time, I had given up hope. But things are improving now,” said Ali.

A series of app cabs kept dropping and picking up passengers at New Market.

Hatibagan Market was also busy throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Bittu Yadav, who sells imitation jewellery, said: “I barely had three customers last Sunday. Today, there have been more than 12.”

Retailers at malls have been busy at last.

The South City store of a fashion retail chain was bustling around 5pm. The trial rooms were mostly occupied and the billing counters had long queues. Till last weekend, people working at the stores would mostly be seen fidgeting with their phones.

“This weekend is showing promise but there is a long way to go to offset the losses incurred in the days before,” said the manager of the store.

He linked the slump to a sharp plunge in the number of shoppers from the suburbs.

“People from the districts bordering Calcutta form a significant section of Puja shoppers. They prefer coming to a mall in Calcutta because they get many more options here. That section had almost gone missing,” said the manager.

The inclement weather last weekend was also to blame for low business, he said.

Sudipta Bhattacharya, a businessman from Chanderganore, had come with wife Gargi and daughter Sristi, a college student.

They had shopping bags from an ethnic wear brand.

“This is the first day of Puja shopping this year. The past few days have been disturbing. But not buying anything for Durga Puja is not going to solve the problem,” said Gargi.

Car parking slots were full at South City by 4.30pm, an official said. That means 1,250 four wheelers.

Acropolis and Quest malls were also buzzing.

“This weekend’s footfall is 50 per cent higher than the previous two weekends, and sales have also grown by over 20 per cent compared to last weekend,” said Subhadip Basu, general manager of Acropolis Mall.