At the end of Day 1, the ticket counters recorded a footfall of barely 200 people. An employee manning the ticket counter at gate 2 said: “We knew the footfall would be less but did not expect it to be so low. Eco Park logs high numbers in winter. But we hope to regain the numbers during the Saraswati Puja weekend and Valentine’s Day.”
The hawkers and food stall owners were equally disappointed. Riju Das, at the Mother Dairy stall near the toy train station, said: “I have sold just a few items of snacks and 25-30 cups of tea today. I hope things improve in the weekend.”
Other vendors wish the park had reopened in the Republic Day week. “In the January 23-26 window, we get very high footfall. We missed that crowd. Had the park opened just a week ago, things wouldn’t have been so bad. Now that Covid cases are not so severe everything should get back to normal,” said Shamsher Ali, who sells phuchka near Gate 3.
Although morning walkers have been asking for parks to reopen, food stall owners and those renting out boats in the lake, are not sure when they will return in numbers. “Business will dip once the winter is over,” said Binoy Das, who rents out cycles to visitors on an hourly basis.
