Kol waits for Park St to turn Festival St from today
Times of India | 24 December 2024
12 Kolkata: Park Street will turn into a fun street on Christmas Eve. For the next two days, revellers will get a chance to walk down the iconic road without getting honked at from behind. Cops have also put in place a plan to use some gates at Park Street and Maidan metro stations exclusively for either entry or exit of passengers to prevent over-crowding. While passengers may only be allowed to exit from the Park Street station gate adjoining the BFL Estates, the entry will be through the Park Street station gate opposite Government College of Art & Craft or Maidan station in front of Kanak Building at Jeevandeep.
Police will also be vigilant against drunken behaviour and ensure that the pedestrians feel safe. "With Christmas Eve falling in the middle of the week, we expect a sizeable crowd in Park Street and adjoining roads, along with the usual office crowd. We will try to ensure that the crowd keeps circulating and there is no build-up in any spot for too long," said an officer.
With pre-Christmas crowds no longer restricted to Park Street following the evolution of several other carnival zones near Lake Town, Patuli and Elgin Road, cops will be deployed in all these areas as well. In areas like Kasba and Sarat Bose Road, eateries draw a good crowd during the festive season.
Lalbazar will deploy a big contingent in the Park Street-Maidan area as it has decided not to shut down Park Street or "any important arterial road" on Christmas Eve till evening, unless the situation warrants so. The deployment that will begin around 9 am at Alipore zoo is expected to end around 2 am the next morning. There will be significant police deployment at St Paul's Cathedral and Science City as well.
Cops on Monday implemented a peak-hour vehicular circulation strategy around Alipore zoo, Park Street and Esplanade, with several guards working in coordination in a mock run. Kolkata Police says it expects around 2.5 lakh-3 lakh revellers to hit central Kolkata between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Cops added there will be vigil against illegal parking and drink driving. The first three weeks of Dec have witnessed over 10,000 prosecutions.
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