The bookshops on College Street are perhaps
the last remnants of the quaint old-world charm that Kolkata was known for,
reminding the discerning world-traveller of the old bookshops of Paris.
However, a severe housing problem coupled with acute poverty has left many
spending fatigue-laden nights on the streets of Kolkata.
The homeless people sleeping on the streets are primarily migrant
workers from the neighboring states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Many of them
sleep in the open.