“I did just a couple of rounds today in over three hours. Several people are bargaining but the price has been fixed collectively and I cannot charge any less,” a coachman said. “Normally, I get three to four rides in an hour on Christmas, New Year’s Day and Republic Day.”
The parking lot of Nicco Park was full by noon.
But more people opted for the 13-ride ticket that sells for Rs 99, not the Rs 349 one that allows 32 rides, a park official said.
Rising expenses and a dip in savings were to blame, according to people from the Maidan to Eco Park.
The batata puri seller said he had to raise the price of a plate by Rs 5 because the price of potato, one of the main ingredients of the snack, had shot up to Rs 26 a kg from Rs 15 a kg. “I cannot charge less than Rs 40 a plate but that has turned out to be too much for many people. A plate of rice and vegetables comes at a lower price,” he said.
As if taking a cue, a large group from Nadia’s Santipur sat for lunch on the walkway near the south gate of Victoria. The menu was puffed rice and potato curry. “We usually have chow mein or fried rice at a hotel. But the budget is a little tight this time,” the man who led the group said.
If rising prices have had an effect, rising fear, too, has tempered the celebrations.
A middle-aged man at Eco Park kept egging his wife and children to return home before dusk. The 46-year-old trader, who lives in Barasat’s Kazipara, said he used to leave the park at the closing time of 7.30pm on earlier New Year days. “Ghar thoda jaldi jana hai kyunki mahol kuchh thik nahin hain. Bachchey log ke liye hi aana padha aaj. (Have to reach home early because the times are not right. If not for the kids, we wouldn’t have come),” the father of two who deals in garments said.
A group of women who hail from Dimapur in Nagaland but live in Calcutta came to the park but skipped avoided eating out.
“We just roamed Nicco Park for sometime before heading home. As it is, the cab fare is quite high today,” one of them said.
The south gate of the Victoria Memorial on Wednesday afternoon looked like the usual New Year’s Day — a sea of heads, mostly black and many in red, pink and other Christmassy colours.
But a young man selling batata puri on the sidewalk kept fidgeting with his phone. Prodded, he said he had sold barely 15 plates since morning. A plate costs Rs 40.
On a day tens of thousands of people descended on the usual popular spots in the city, a little scratching under the surface suggested all was not well — neither with the economy nor with the popular sentiment.
A trader from Andul, in Howrah, was seen having phuchka with his wife and five-year-old daughter outside the Alipore zoo. The man, who deals in plastic items, said his business had taken a 20-30 per cent hit in the past two years.
“But I have to come to Calcutta on such days because of my daughter. We save by cutting other expenses, like not eating fish daily,” he said.
The man selling batata puri outside the Victoria Memorial rued how large groups would earlier order 10 plates in one go. “I had to hire a help on big days like this and would not find time to even smoke a bidi. But things have changed and how,” he said, pointing to his near empty cash box.
Each of the horse-drawn carriages that make rounds in the Maidan area charged Rs 500 for every round on New Year’s Day.
While a carriage got booked every now and then, a steady stream of empty carriages waited for customers.
A makeshift bhel puri stall without a customer on a crowded Maidan around 4pm on Wednesday. Another man selling snacks at the south gate of the Victoria Memorial, less than a kilometre from the spot in picture, said he had sold less than 15 plates till 2pm. He rued how large groups would earlier order 10 plates in one go. “I had to hire a help on big days like this and would not find time to even smoke a bidi. But things have changed and how,” he said. He had to raise the price of a plate by Rs 5 because of the rise in the price of potato, one of the main ingredients of the snack.
A row of horse-drawn carriages waits for customers near the Maidan-facing north gate of the Victoria Memorial on Wednesday afternoon. The horse-drawn carriages that circle the Maidan charged Rs 500 for every round on New Year’s Day. “I did just a couple of rounds today in over three hours. I normally get three to four rides in an hour on days like this,” a coachman said.