Kolkata: The fire at a Free School Street lodge on Aug 19 that killed nine people has singed businesses in neighbouring New Market and the adjoining trade belt, with shopkeepers reporting a sharp decline in Bangladeshi customers following the closure of hotels, lodges and guest houses in the area.Between the first fortnight of Aug and now, the 5,000-odd shops that retail apparel, cosmetics, luggage, dry fruits and chocolates in New Market and surrounding areas are together losing Rs 1 crore a day.These very shops had begun to see sales recover after India resumed issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshi citizens in June-end. But the recent fire and the hotel closures that followed have undone the gains and left the businesses nursing losses.For over two decades, shops in New Market, Humayun Place, Bertram Street, Lindsay Street and Free School Street have depended heavily on customers from Bangladesh, who accounted for more than half the footfall and nearly 60% of the sales.At Amrapali, which sells suit materials in New Market’s B Block, 60% of its customers were from Bangladesh before political unrest broke out in the country around mid-2024, leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.“When tourist visas resumed after a two-year lull, customers began to trickle back. A few weeks back, around 15%-20% of our customers were from Bangladesh. But with hotels being forced to shut down and Bangladeshis having to either move to other neighbourhoods or return home, not even 5% customers are Bangladeshis now,” said Manoj Adwani of Amrapali.Tarun Israni of Mansa Saris said Bangladeshi customers contributed around 70% of his shop’s business. “We stock saris according to their taste. After the uprising and Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, it went down to 15%. After visas resumed, it was creeping up and touched 25% before the fire and the hotel closures. It was 10% a week ago and is rapidly declining,” said Israni.At Fancy Boutique, which sells salwar suits, nearly 80% of its customers were Bangladeshis before the slump. That dropped to 15% before the resumption of tourist visas for Bangladeshis and is now almost nil, said owner Amit Saha.Of the 2,700 shops in New Market, Bangladeshi customers frequent around 1,500, mainly those selling garments, cosmetics, travel accessories, bags, chocolates, dry fruits and whole spices. In addition, traders said, 3,500-4,000 shops on Lindsay Street, Humayun Place, Free School Street and Marquis Street depend heavily on customers from Bangladesh.“On average, the daily transaction in a shop in the area was Rs 15,000 prior to the June 2024 uprising in Bangladesh. The total transaction in the 5,000-5,500 shops was around Rs 8 crore daily. Of this, Bangladeshis contributed 50%-60% of the business. They used to spend Rs 4.8 crore on shopping in this belt daily,” said SS Hogg Market Traders’ Association secretary Uday Kumar Shaoo.The upheaval in Bangladesh had reduced the average daily sales down to around Rs 6,000. The daily turnover in the area crashed from Rs 8 crore to Rs 3 crore. After India resumed issuing visas in June-end, average daily sales rose to Rs 8,000, with Bangladeshis contributing around 20% of the turnover of around Rs 1 crore a day.Traders said sales have now slipped back to Rs 6,000 a day, with hardly any business from Bangladeshi customers.“Those who were here to shop have returned. Those who stayed in the neighbourhood for medical purposes and shopped when they were not in hospital have moved to Mukundapur and Salt Lake. They will not come all the way to shop here,” said Shaoo.
