Kolkata: Large portions of central Kolkata were choked on Sunday evening. Revelers hit the streets and hotspots in large numbers throughout the day and thronged to Park Street in the evening. Cops said traffic was seamless on Park Street till 6 pm, after which, the pedestrian volume increased manifold with many spilling on to the carriageway while taking selfies. Motorists holding cellphones out of the car while driving slowly to take videos of the Christmas lighting further slowed traffic, leading to major snarls till Esplanade crossing. “We placed guard rails to limit people to pavements but many slid through gaps,” said an officer.
Jadavpur resident Srijani Ghosh said she had a day’s outing with her family at Alipore zoo and Maidan before they rushed to Park Street to walk along the lit-up stretch before having dinner at a restaurant there.
Cops admitted there were not enough personnel to manage the rush of revelers on Sunday. Around 1,200 cops will be deployed on Park Street and another 1,800 in the surrounding roads to control crowds on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The city’s popular attractions drew record crowds on the last pre-Christmas Sunday. Alipore zoo had 68,000 visitors, a sharp rise from around 16,000 the day before. The zoo authorities have decided to keep it open every day from Dec 15 to Jan 31. New Town’s Eco Park recorded a footfall of 34,536 while Victoria Memorial had 27,398 visitors. Science City and Nicco Park had 16,200 and over 5,000 visitors respectively.
(Inputs from Mayukh Sengupta)