Residents seem to be melting away this week, one bead of sweat at a time. The sun is scorching from above, the roads are reflecting heat from below, the air is hot and humid and together they are draining all the energy out of our bodies.

The Telegraph Salt Lake did a recce of the township to see what residents were doing to cope with the weather.

Drink of life

Residents are sipping coconut water and sugarcane juice whenever they see a vendor. “If I don’t find either of these I go for cola but the natural drinks restore energy better,” said Rana Chattaraj, who works in CL Block. His friend Raja Kayat, who works in BL Block, said it’s as if every day feels hotter than the day before.

Together, the friends had met up outside CK Market to drink sugarcane juice on Monday afternoon. “The hotter the day, the greater the sale,” smiled the juice vendor Guddu Yadav. “But the paradox is that on extremely hot days I’m unable to take the heat myself. Yesterday I had to go home midday as I was feeling sick.”

Yadav lives near Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals and heads to College Street at night to buy sugar cane sticks. He’s been getting 60 or 70 a day on an average but on extremely hot days even 100 sticks fly off his van. “Maximum customers come between seven and 11am. Thereafter nobody leaves the shelter of their homes,” he says.

At CA Market’s Baba Taraknath Bhandar, Shyamal Kundu says customers are buying 14 to 15 tetra packs of branded lassi a day. “Packed chhachh and buttermilk are also popular. People are also buying

Glucon D and Tang to dissolve in water and drink. I’ve noticed that customers are getting health conscious and preferring these to cola,” said Kundu.

For the less fortunate, there are good Samaritans like Ramesh Kumar Saraogi. He has placed earthen pots of drinking water on the footpath opposite his DL Block bungalow for passers-by. “We also offer chhola, batasha or morabba and refill the pots several times a day. It’s free and nearly 500 people come daily,” said Saraogi’s staff Ram Chandra Singh, who sits under a garden umbrella with the foodstuff.

Many residents have also left pots of water on the footpaths for birds, cats and dogs.

Chill on the road

Auto drivers are soaking towels in water and tucking behind their necks and rickshaw drivers who own manual rickshaws have spread tarpaulin sheds overhead. “Time was when summer meant passengers even for short rides. But these days, app cabs have killed our market,” scowled Prasanta Marjis, sweating under a tree with other rickshaw drivers at the Poura Bhavan stand. “People are preferring AC cabs to rickshaws even for five-minute rides.”

Well, air-conditioners are quite a necessity these days, judging from sales at electronic goods stores. “In April itself, we have sold more than 380 units,” says Subhankar Nandy, manager of Khosla

Electronics in EC Block. “Last year, the mercury had peaked at around 40°C but this year predictions say it will touch 42°C. So AC companies, and we, expect to make a killing!”

With soaring temperatures, households want to buy ACs for more rooms in their houses or exchange older models with new energy-saving ones. “Sales peak in the weekends, depending on how hot the past week has been,” added Nandy. The prices of 1.5 tonne ACs start from about Rs 35,000.

Eco Park, seeing less footfall, is opening later. (Saradindu Chaudhury)

Comfort over fashion

The first floor of CA Market has ample stores selling saris, tops and kurtis but the hangers and mannequins outside, almost uniformly, showcase a single outfit — nighties. “Kurtis sold well in Chaitra but it’s too hot for anything else now. Women are buying light-coloured, cotton nighties more than anything else,” said Subir Saha of Deep Fashion.

Women using public transport are wrapping dupattas around head and face. Their eyes are protected by sun glasses and arms by full sleeves. “Even then, we aren’t spared from the heat. I’ve got prickly heat despite all this protection,” said Priyanka Das, before hopping into an auto at Kwality More.

Sales of wet tissues and umbrellas have picked pace. “The best umbrellas are those with a silver insulation underneath,” says Sudhangshu Kumar Saha of Manasha Stores in CA Market. “I’m getting a dozen at a time these days and will have to replenish stocks soon. The Rs 290 black, two-fold umbrellas are the most durable and best-selling models in my store.”

The weather is influencing hairstyles too. “Men and even some bold women are going for the ‘fade out’ style,” said Jolly Chanda of Satin Rose Salon & Spa in FE Block. This is a style where the hair is almost totally shaved off near the ears and it grows in length gradually towards the top.

“Hair tattoos are also in. This means lines or abstract designs shaved out at the nape or sides of the head. Again these are possible with very short hair,” Chanda says.

Roadside barbers have the same experience. “Parents are bringing their kids and asking me to shave off all their hair. Till a few years ago, kids would cry and throw tantrums but a couple of days ago a boy, about 10 or 12 years of age, happily asked to be tonsured. He wanted respite from the heat. A 12 or 13-year-old girl came and asked for a boy cut too,” said the barber outside GD Market, himself stripped to his vest and sweating profusely.

Illustration: Onkarnath Bhattacharya

Water woes

If the heat makes you feel like bathing repeatedly, check the water level in your reservoir first. The dry month has led to water shortage in some areas and groups like Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad, that have two 5,000l water tanks, say they are over-booked.

“We fill water from Tallah five times a day and can serve a maximum of 10 houses. But these days we are getting 15 bookings a day and being forced to refuse some orders. The pressure is all the more severe as the wedding season is on and people have guests over,” says Suresh Gupta, past president of the body and a resident of AE Block.

At least there are swimming pools to jump in for respite. “Our session started in March but we are still getting applications from non-members to come swim,” says Col (retd) Indrajit Roy, general manager of New Town Business Club. “Daily about 240 non-members and 85 club members swim at our pool in half-hour slots. The figures are higher than last year and I’m sure the heat is contributing to it.”

Footfall dip

Footfall at popular tourist destinations is taking a hit too. Debashis Sen, chairman cum managing director of Hidco that runs Eco Park, said there has been roughly a 30 per cent fall in footfall this season compared to winter months when the park would open at mid-day and stay open till 7.30pm. “We have tweaked the park’s timings keeping in mind the heat. The park is now open from 2.30pm to 8.30pm. Visitors are flocking to boat rides in the waterbody in the evenings to enjoy the cool breeze,” said Sen.

Input from Snehal sengupta

What do you dislike most about the summer heat?

Write to The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abpmail.com