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.
Tarun Israni of Mansa Saris said Bangladeshi customers contributed around 70% of his shop’s business. 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. “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. Traders said sales have now slipped back to Rs 6,000 a day, with hardly any business from Bangladeshi customers.
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