The shopowners have been offered three alternative sites -- Ezra Street, Entally or Rajarhat -- for relocation. Though they are not opposed to relocation, the shopkeepers are demanding suitable compensation. They are unanimous in their demand that they want to be relocated back to Bowbazar Street once the project is completed.

"We have also identified two or three sites in the locality where the shops could be relocated again once the project is over," said Tapan Kundu, Secretary, Calcutta Cabinet Makers and Furniture Association.

Though only 14 shops of the total 88 shops in the Bowbazar furniture market will be shifted, these shops are very popular and have been the landmarks of the Bowbazar furniture market. So it will be a blow to the identity of the market as a whole and we will lose our customer base soon, the shopkeepers said.

In the last four months, the 300-year-old furniture market on the BB Ganguly Street has witnessed dwindling sales. As soon as word spread about the shops being pulled down to make way for the new Metro corridor project, the steady flow of customers have come down to a mere trickle.

According to the proprietors of the furniture shops, sales have gone down by at least 90 per cent as compared to last year during the same period.

"This is the peak sales period. The news about the Bowabazar furniture market being demolished, however, is sending wrong signals to prospective customers, especially those located in the far flung areas," said Utpal Das, the owner of Bina Cabin.

"Customers can no longer trust us with advance payments as they think that we can down our shutters any day," the shopowners said.