Moumita Sarkar, 24, shopped on Sri Aurobindo Road and Dobson Road in Salkia till Avani Riverside Mall happened. Now, the Belur resident is spoilt for choice with two swank new malls close at hand.

Ankita Sharma, 21, no longer has to head for Calcutta for a movie date with friends or family. She watched Dangal last week and plans to catch Shah Rukh Khan's Raees at INOX Belur later this month.

Shoppers have migrated from markets to malls in Howrah. Air-conditioned comfort, ease of access with elevators and escalators and parking facilities give malls an edge over traditional markets.

The latest addition to Howrah's mall map is Raghav Plaza on Dobson Road, just 100 metres from the 30-year-old AC Market. The G+2 plaza, sprawled across 33,000 square feet, has more than 90 shops, a food court, spacious corridors, elevators, escalators and basement parking facility for 60 cars. "Dobson Road is a prime shopping area in Howrah. A shopping plaza had become a necessity," said Anil Bagaria, the director of Howrah Infrastructure Private Ltd, the developer of Raghav Plaza.

Some old traders at Howrah AC Market have bought stores at the new plaza. Pradip Kumar Choraria, owner of a 17-year-old garments store, has a branch at Raghav Plaza. "Howrah AC market is congested. The corridors are narrow and there isn't even a toilet. The air-conditioning often fails," he said.

Lack of parking space is another put-off. Mahabir Kumar Dugar, owner of Sajawat Designer Jewellery Studio, often has customers complaining that they have to park at least half a kilometre away.

Absence of lifts and escalators also turns elderly customers away from the market. "My store is on the second floor. Many elderly customers find it difficult to climb the stairs," said Kumar Soni, the owner of Shree Shringar Jewellers.

It all began when Avani Riverside Mall opened doors in south Howrah five years ago. Later, Forum Rangoli spread the mall-plex-plaza fever to the congested north in 2015.

"I used to shop on Sri Aurobindo Road and Dobson Road in Salkia till they became overcrowded with pedestrians and vendors encroaching on the road and heavy traffic. I started going to Avani Riverside Mall or even South City Mall instead," said Moumita, who now shops at Aurobindo Mall and Forum Rangoli.

Ankita is happy to save on travel time. "Earlier, if I wanted to watch a movie, we had to go to a multiplex in Calcutta. There were no good cinemas in Howrah; most of the old halls are in a dilapidated condition. With PVR Cinemas and INOX, we don't need to step out of Howrah for a movie," said the resident of Shibpur.

The 1,20,000sq ft Aurobindo Mall in Salkia has three anchor stores - Pantaloons, Bazaar Kolkata and Reliance Trends. A plex and food court are scheduled to open soon along with terrace parking facility. The location of the mall, just 3km away from Howrah bridge, is expected to draw customers from across the river as well. Mumbai-based Miraj Cinemas will debut in Bengal with its first multiplex here.

Mayor Rathin Chakraborty plans to build a "multiple utility centre" on the 62cottah plot once occupied by the century-old Kadamtala Bazar, which was gutted in a devastating fire on October 1. "A mall is the best option to use space well. It will have a multiplex, shops, a community hall, medical centre, community development centre and underground parking," said the mayor. "We will have a meeting with the owners soon."