Bineeta Sengupta, stuck in her second-floor Bangur Avenue flat, could not go to the market for the past three days. On Wednesday, the market came to her doorstep.

Taking a cue from the neighbourhood cart-pushing vegetable-seller and customising it to cater to the needs of marooned men and women, Big Bazaar reached out to its customers in waterlogged Bangur.

“I heard some public announcement and came out on the balcony. It was, indeed, a pleasant surprise, as there was hardly anything left at home,” said the homemaker and a mother of two.

The man, sporting a Big Bazaar T-shirt, was urging people to place orders and promising home delivery of all provisions. Supplies from a supermarket along with the comfort factor that the cart-pushing vegetable-seller brings to the home — it was a welcome relief for the waterlogged residents of Bangur.

“This is the first time we are doing something like this,” said the sales personnel, wading through waist-deep water to take orders.

Then, he, along with a colleague, was carrying the supplies to the customers’ home in a cycle-rickshaw.

In most cases, the demands were very basic — bottled drinking water, salt, sugar, flour and rice and candles.

“People from these areas are our regular customers. But because of the waterlogging, they cannot come and so we are here,” smiled the man.

Another big-format retail major, Spencer’s, also kept delivering supplies from its 12 stores in the city.

“If our store is open, we take orders and keep delivering. We also make it a point not to hike the prices of any commodity in emergency situations like this,” said Samar Shikhawat, vice president (marketing), Spencer’s Retail.

“Marketers always try to satisfy customer need. This is an example of going a step beyond and satisfying a consumer in need,” said marketing expert Shiloo Chattopadhyay, while commenting on the delivery mechanism for the marooned.