kolkata demand for airconditioners has come down to a trickle in kolkata because of various factors financial and health concerns covidinduced restrictions and fears hampering distribution and installation coupled with this years milder summerfrom the customers point of view the most obvious problem seems to be finances with layoffs in multiple industries the actual number of people who can afford an ac has fallen feel industry insiders again a large number of customers who can afford an ac are shying away because its installation requires the presence of at least threefour men in the houseadd to this the fact that this summer was unusually mild compared with the past several years and that made an ac more of a luxury not a necessity according to the met office the mercury did not cross 38 c even once in south bengal this summeri wanted to buy an ac said abhishek banerjee a jadavpur resident who works in a private firm but a pay cut has forced me to keep the plan on hold i am not in a position to spend on an appliance that would cost rs 7000 to merely installthose who do not have this problem have found the logistics too difficult most housing complexes and homeowners have restricted the entry of outsiders to contain the spread of covid migrant labourers who used to work in service centres and install the machines at home have returned to their native places all this together has caused a demand plungesay ac manufacturersleading companies manufacturing electrical appliances say sales have slumped by 50 to 55 with many stores remaining shut since the lockdown was introduced in bengal the market in north india is relatively better owing to the scorching summer in may and early june they said calcutta electric supply corporation cesc recorded a slump in requests for ac installations this summer avijit ghosh vicepresident distribution cesc told toi the lockdown started before peak summer this year markets were closed and online purchase was also suspended with ac sales having fallen because of the lockdown we have also received very few applications from consumers installing acs at home santosh salian the product group head ac godrej appliances agreed around 55 of the annual ac sales happens between march and may he said this year the industry has lost the sellout point besides the temperature in bengal was not as harsh as last years despite a small spike in demand triggered by work from home installation difficulties in containment and buffer zones and residential areas came in the way of sales the market in kolkata has been impacted due to multiple reasons especially the pandemic lockdown and early monsoon in bengal we hope the sales pick up some pace in the festive season said gaurav sah business head ac panasonic india businessman mohd riyaz a resident of beniapukur road said i had planned to buy an ac for my parents this summer but many of my friends warned that air conditioning increased the