CR Park street food vendors gear up for Durga Puja rush

As pujo approaches, CR Park markets come alive with foodies from across the city flocking to local sweet shops and street food stalls. With the festive season in full swing, street vendors selling jhaal muri, puchka, chur mur and rolls hike their prices, seeing it as a ‘good time for business’.

Sweet shops, offering a variety of traditional Bengali sweets, produce five times their usual quantity of mishtis, and expanding their teams to keep up with the increasing demand.

‘People spend a lot on food during pujo’
Madan Bhanja, a sweet shop owner and caterer, says, “Ahead of pujo, everyone is usually busy buying clothes and jewellery. But, during pujo, they spend the most on food. To meet the logistics at the pandals, around 400 people have come from Bengal.”

“Pujo ke dauraan toh chaa aur jhaal muri double price mein bechte hain” says a stall owner at Block-B pandal, who will be selling is selling the usual Rs30 tea in kulhad at Rs50 or Rs60 during pujo. Jhaal muri, currently priced at Rs30 will be sold for Rs60 during the festival.

"If sellers are making 400 pieces of a sweet usually, during pujo they make around 2000 a day. To cater to the demand at pandals and at restaurants, around 50 people from Bengal are going to join our staff," says Paritosh Biswas, Operations Head of a Bengali restaurant chain.

Top-selling mishtis at CR Park
Rosogolla
Raj bhog
Nolen gurer tal shash sondesh
Mishti doi
Cham cham
Shanti bhog

“Usually, over 100 kgs of potatoes are boiled in our kitchen. During pujo, paanch-chhae katta aloo (around 250-300 kgs) toh ubaalna hi hota hai ek din mein,” says Sunil, who works at a chaat corner in Market 1. “People come to explore Bengali sweets, start their mishti haul with sandesh and mishti doi,” says Ashish Biswas, who manages a sweet shop in CR Park.

Popular snacks during Pujo
Puchka
Jhaal muri
Kolkata rolls
Chur mur
Aloo chop/mutton chop
Ghugni
Fish fry