West Bengal Secretariat moving back to Writers’ Buildings; small traders hope for revival of businesses
The new West Bengal government’s decision to operate from Writers’ Buildings has renewed hopes among small traders in Kolkata’s BBD Bagh area, whose livelihoods have been suffering since the State Secretariat was shifted to ‘Nabanna’ 13 years ago.
Owners of tea stalls and small restaurants, fruit sellers and traders around the nearly 250-year-old Writers’ Building said the return of government employees and visitors was expected to boost their business.
“We barely had time to sit when the state government was working from here. Government employees, security personnel, lawyers and office workers visited our stall from morning till evening,” said Prabir Saha, a tea stall owner in central Kolkata’s BBD Bagh area.
He said that after the secretariat changed, sales dropped significantly within months and many nearby stalls were completely closed, and he also explained how small businesses in the region suffered.
Several traders recalled how the BBD Bagh area once remained bustling due to the movement of thousands of government staff and visitors to the Writers’ Buildings, which served as the State Secretariat since Independence, until 2013 when the Mamata Banerjee-led government moved the office to ‘Nabanna’ in Howrah on the other side of the Hooghly river.
Rina Shaw, who runs a small fast food stall near BBD Bagh, said small businesses are facing uncertainty after ‘Nabanna’ became the administrative centre.
“Previously, we employed 6 people. Now, only my wife and I manage the shop. There were days when we could not even cover the cost of raw materials. If offices return here, this region will come to life again.”
Owners of photocopier and stationery stores said the impact of the switch was immediate and severe, as government paperwork forms the backbone of their earnings.
“Applications, statements, office papers, identity documents, everything used to be photocopied here,” said Sanjay Gupta, who runs a photocopy center near the Writers’ Building.
“After 2013, customers have almost disappeared. About seven or eight photocopy shops in this area have closed in a few years because they could not pay the rent and electricity bills,” said Yogendra, another photocopy stall owner.
“Despite occasional administrative actions, the footfall in the area never improved,” said Abdul Rahim, a fruit vendor.
“The passage of thousands of workers meant business for everyone, from fruit sellers, cigarette shops, small restaurants and roadside hawkers,” he said, adding that “many shutters were closed until this afternoon.”
Local traders’ associations estimate that hundreds of small businesses in and around BBD Bagh have either closed or drastically downsized in the last decade due to reduced customer flow.
Economists and urban planners have often noted that the relocation of major administrative centers affects entire ecosystems of informal and small-scale commerce that depend on daily office activities.
Many traders said they expected business opportunities to gradually revive if the State Department resumes full-fledged operations in the Writers’ Buildings.
“This is not just about nostalgia or heritage. It is a matter of survival for ordinary people like us. Writers’ Buildings have indirectly fed thousands of families,” said Debasish Mitra, owner of a small hotel that caters to office-goers.
Writers’ Buildings, which witnessed an armed raid by freedom fighters during the British era and rule by chief ministers mostly from the Congress and CPI(M), will permanently revert to its erstwhile State Secretariat status, a senior state government official said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state came to power in 2011 and the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) was briefly based in Writers’ Buildings before moving to ‘Nabanna’, a new 14-storey structure at Shibpur in Howrah, two years later.
It was published – 11 May 2026 15:43 IST
