Eid shoppers braved sweltering conditions to flock to markets on Saturday. The crowd peaked when the sun went down.

By late evening, space came at a premium on Zakaria Street and Rabindra Sarani.

People bought everything from kurta-pyjamas and abayas to caps and slippers, and sewai, dry fruits and attar.

Men queued up outside Klassic Kurta, a shop on Rabindra Sarani that has been an old favourite.

Kebabs and shahi tukda, a dessert, sold without a break on Zakaria Street. Carts and stalls were struggling to serve the huge crowd that gathered.

At South City Mall, two department store chains remained open till midnight. They usually close at 10pm. The store of an entertainment and amusement chain for kids followed suit.

A footwear seller in Quest Mall said: “Last weekend was also good. This weekend has started better”.

New Market was bustling with shoppers at 6pm. But many traders said the slide in Bangladeshi customers had hit their business.

Ayushi Banerjee, 29, who works at a store selling women’s kurtas on Lindsay Street, said the store was empty for hours in the run-up to Eid because of the sharp drop in Bangladeshi customers. “But the past week has been good,” she said.

Mohammad Raju, 48, from Maheshtala on the southwestern fringes of the city, came with his wife and two children to buy new clothes for the kids, a yearly ritual.

“We come to New Market because of the variety of options,” said Raju. The family dined in Esplanade after shopping.

The crowd peaked after sundown.

Saturday’s maximum temperature was just under 37 degrees.

The humidity quotient was still on the lower side. The relative humidity was around 25 per cent. The heat was piercing, suggesting a brutal summer.