Titli threat blows over, revellers make most of a dry Panchami

KOLKATA: An extended pre-Puja weekend and a dry Sunday, despite rain threats, brought lakhs of revellers out on a pandal-hopping spree on Panchami, rivalling the footfall usually recorded on Saptami or Ashtami. The surge had begun from Chaturthi, a Saturday, and as the rain eased off, revellers thronged the city streets from early Sunday morning. As the day progressed, the crowd continued to grow.



Standing near the entrance of Ekdalia Evergreen, minister and chief organiser Subrata Mukherjee kept a check on the continuous increase in crowd flow from early afternoon. “It seems like Saptami or Ashtami. Since Saturday, we have received more than double the number of visitors we had during this time last year. If such is the situation on Panchami, I wonder what will happen in the next few days,” said Mukherjee, adding that they have hired double the number of security guards compared to last year.

Sree Bhumi, too, boasted of twice the number of visitors in the prelude to the Puja compared to last year. “Initially, we had thought of closing the pandal till Chaturthi since the chief minister had inaugurated the Puja three days before Mahalaya. But as the news circulated, people started visiting our pandal and we had to open it for them. Till Panchami, we have received more than 50% of the crowd we had received during the entire Puja last year,” said a Puja committee member.



To make most of the extended weekend, the revellers had their work sorted — start early and see as many Pujas as possible. “I was worried about the rain forecast, but as it stopped drizzling from Saturday afternoon, I set out with my family and by Panchami, we have visited almost all the major pandals in south and central Kolkata,” said Subhasis Chaudhuri, a resident of Beliaghata.

There were other revellers who were in a hurry to wrap up their pandal-hopping to ensure they have enough time during the main Puja days to stay in their neighbourhoods. Some even have to go out of the city and wanted to visit as many pandals as they could before Sashthi.

Even as the crowd pressure mounted, pandal-hoppers were all praises for the cops managing traffic across the major thoroughfares. Traffic on stretches like NSC Bose Road, MG Road and CR Avenue, which had been choking under pressure since Friday night, was a lot smoother on Sunday. Though traffic movement was slow on Rashbehari Avenue, it was far better than on the past two days.

The exception was VIP Road, especially the stretch near Sree Bhumi. “It took me one and a half hours to reach Ultadanga from Bangur Avenue on Sunday evening. All the bylanes were blocked by parked cars and the thoroughfare was choking with traffic,” said Sujata Dasgupta, a resident of Maniktala.