KOLKATA: From Alipore to Park Street to New Town, the city on Sunday witnessed crushing crowds at almost all hot spots bringing traffic to a standstill and forcing traffic police in Kolkata and Bidhannagar to rush into a Durga Puja-like deployment.
Metro trains were so crowded that stoppage time at stations like Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan and Rabindra Sadan had to be extended to allow passengers to get on and off. In the evening, Metro railway was forced to down shutters at a few stations, including Park Street, for a brief period to regulate passenger influx into the area.
After 2 years of Cov curbs, crowds take over hot spots
Soaking in the Yuletide spirit, a sea of revellers, donning Santa caps, Santa masks, antlers, and even devil horns, hit Kolkata streets on Sunday.
The crushing crowd, however, did little to dampen the Christmas revellers’ enthusiasm – from Park Street and Millennium Park to Nicco Park and Eco Park; or from Science City and Alipore zoo to the Maidan.
The crowd surge brought traffic to a standstill in several parts of the city, especially in the Esplanade-Park Street area, and cops in Kolkata and Bidhannagar sent out Durga Puja-like deployment. Metro trains were too crowded, and trains had to stop for close to a minute at stations like Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan and Rabindra Sadan to allow passengers to get on and off. In order to regulate passenger movement, shutters were also downed at Park Street station for a brief period.
“Setting foot on Park Street was like visiting Times Square on Christmas Day. We practically had to earn our entry. But once in, it was a great feeling. We even participated in a Mexican wave of our own,” said Sanket Shaw, a BA third-year student who stepped out with a group of 15 friends.
Victoria Memorial made a record on Sunday with 38,247 revellers, the highest this season, and possibly the highest post Covid. Authorities said revellers had started trooping in along with morning walkers and kept coming in till the gates closed at 5pm. For most, the visit was topped up with street food, a visit to Maidan, and a horse-carriage ride. “I had no idea Christmas is celebrated in such a grand manner in Kolkata. This is my first Christmas in the city and I enjoyed it,” said Hannah Pinter, a US national married to a Bengali youth, Anish Chakraborty.
Alipore zoo was brimming with visitors and clocked a footfall of 87,373 till it closed at 5pm. The queue for entry had spilled on to the adjacent road.
“We entered the zoo around 10am to avoid standing in a long queue. We had a great time and then had lunch outside,” said Debasree Sarkar (45), a resident of Kasba.
Science City stood out as a favourite yet again with 22,368 visitors. This was the most the park had received in the last four years on December 25. Indian Museum had 11,018 visitors.
Eco Park was again the winner in terms of footfall, recording more than 91,000 visitors till late evening. Many first-time visitors were pleasantly surprised by its ambience despite the rush and traffic chaos outside.
Nicco Park, too, had a huge rush of visitors on Christmas Day, with more than 8,300 flocking to the amusement park. The city’s newest attraction – Alipore jail museum – was visited by almost 14,000 people on Sunday.
Shopping malls were also packed with visitors. South City itself recorded a footfall of 2,25,000.
(With Inputs from Biplab Bhattacharjee, Mayukh Sengupta, Amit Moulick & Debobrata Shome)
Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vdGltZXNvZmluZGlhLmluZGlhdGltZXMuY29tL2NpdHkva29sa2F0YS9yZXZlbGxlcnMtYnJpbmcta29sa2F0YS10by1hLWhhbHRvbi1jaHJpc3RtYXMvYXJ0aWNsZXNob3cvOTY1MDM5NTMuY21z0gFyaHR0cHM6Ly9tLnRpbWVzb2ZpbmRpYS5jb20vY2l0eS9rb2xrYXRhL3JldmVsbGVycy1icmluZy1rb2xrYXRhLXRvLWEtaGFsdG9uLWNocmlzdG1hcy9hbXBfYXJ0aWNsZXNob3cvOTY1MDM5NTMuY21z?oc=5
