The flash flood in Sikkim, which hit parts of north Bengal as well, and the delay in disbursal of tea bonuses, have led to a lull in retail and wholesale markets of Siliguri ahead of Durga Puja.
Retailers across Siliguri pointed out that after the disaster in Sikkim, hardly any buyer from the Himalayan state turned up at their shops to make purchases for the upcoming festivities.
Bapi Saha, the secretary of Bidhan Market Byabsayee Samiti — Bidhan Market is Siliguri’s largest retail marketplace with over 1,000 shops that sell garments, cosmetics, kitchenware and other items — said half their buyers come from Sikkim and other hilly areas.
“Usually, 50 per cent of our customers are from the hills. But after the disaster, barely five per cent of buyers from Sikkim and other hilly areas came. We also depend on buyers from tea belts of the Dooars and the Terai, but delay in the settlement of the bonus has kept them away too. We hope for a better situation next week,” said Saha.
Ahead of the festive season, a shop in the market would sell items worth around Rs 40,000 or so, he said. Over the past 10 days, the daily sale has reduced to a mere Rs 10,000, he rued.
“In my 38 years of retail experience, I have not seen such a miserable situation,” added Saha.
The situation is similar in Seth Srilal Market, another retail marketplace in the heart of the city.
Biplab Roy Muhuri, the general secretary of Brihattra Siliguri Khuchra Byabsayee Samiti, said that in the retail sector, the daily turnover is around Rs 100 crore this time of the year.
“But because of the disaster, it has reduced by at least 30 per cent, which means a loss of Rs 30 crore a day. People from Sikkim are hardly buying anything,” said Muhuri.
“Two years back, we suffered huge losses because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the past couple of years, we somehow managed to get out of the situation. But again, this flash flood has hit the retail sector hard,” said Raja Saha, who runs a garment store on Hill Cart Road.
The only hope, he said, is that in tea gardens, the disbursement of bonuses has just started. “We expect tea workers and their families to come to our shops from Monday,” said Raja.
Traders in the Siliguri Regulated Market, the largest wholesale hub of fish, vegetables and fruits in north Bengal, Nayabazar, which is the wholesale market of grocery items, are also incurring losses in the aftermath of the natural calamity. From both these markets, goods worth around Rs 1 crore used to go to Sikkim and Kalimpong daily. Because of damaged roads and detours, orders have dropped by 50 to 60 per cent.