KOLKATA: The first Saturday after the payday
saw a dip in leisure
spending which the retailers,
restaurateurs and customers
attributed to
unavailability of adequate cash
and "negative sentiment". The green shoots of spending turnaround that appeared last weekend went missing from the preferred weekend haunts like New Market, bars and eateries on Park Street, nightclubs and malls.
Perhaps, the only silver lining in the demonetisation gloom were 'Dear Zindagi' and 'Kahani 2' that ran to almost filled auditoriums.
In shops in and around New Market where cash is the most preferred way of payment, were hit the most. "Normally, I sell six to seven bags in a day. The sale has dipped to maximum two or three," lamented Mohammed Islam who owns a shop on Bertram Street.
The aisles of
Simpark Plaza
, the parkomat mall in front of New Market, wore a deserted look.
"Shopping for winter garments picks up during this time. But this year we are yet to see that rush. We had thought that shoppers will troop in today since they have taken care of other expenses but that has not happened," said Mohammed Afroze, who owns an apparel store.
People had thought that the government will pump adequate cash in the system which will trigger spending over the weekend. On the contrary, people are struggling to take care of their bills because the banks and ATMs have provided even less than the amount stipulated by the government.
A lot of people particularly from the trading community have curtailed their weekend spending.
The atrium of a mall off the EM Bypass wore a deserted look on Saturday afternoon. "Usually the place is buzzing with people but the business has been bad since demonetisation. We had estimated that things will start looking up by the first week of December but it seems the reverse is happening," said the manager of the mall. "My business has taken a hit because of demonetisation. The sales have gone down by almost 40%. Of course I am not in the
frame of mind
to party. Perhaps I will have a few drinks at home," said Sanjay Agarwal who is the wholesaler of paper in Old China Market.
If that was not enough, most ATMs remained shut throughout Saturday creating a further funds crunch. Huge queues formed outside many in the evening even before they were replenished. Most of the ATMs that TOI visited in Dalhousie, Burrabazar, Central Avenue, Ganesh Chandra Avenue on Saturday morning were shut. Few that were open were dispensing only Rs 2000 notes. Some of the ATMs did open in the evening but there were long queue outside. Many of them ran out of cash within a couple of hours.
There is little hope for things to improve on Sunday because banks will remain shut and ATMs would be the only source of funds. But bankers have already cautioned against raising expectations.