Crowds make a comeback across city pandals, spark festive hope
Times of India | 26 September 2025The evening shower, however, led to a sea of umbrellas on the streets, and overcrowding inside pandals, where volunteers had a tough time keeping the visitors moving. Many were reluctant to leave the refuge of the pandals and step out in the rain.
At Santosh Mitra Square, with the theme "Operation Sindoor", the queue of visitors reached BB Ganguly Street, nearly 300 m away. The crowd continued to swell even as it started to rain around 8 pm.
Among them was Tanima Mondal (50) from Behala, who came with colleagues. "It was extremely crowded but I had a great time," she said.
At Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra, people queued up with umbrellas or bags above their heads. Many got drenched but refused to leave without stepping into the pandal. Heavy turnout was also reported at Kumartuli Park and Bagbazar Sarbojonin. "We planned to start pandal-hopping on Wednesday but there was waterlogging.
Thursday made up for it," said college student Jyotishka Dutta, who was out with friends.
The Lake Town-Nagerbazar stretch, home to Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra, Dum Dum Park Tarun Dal, Arjunpur Amra Sobai Club and Sreebhumi Sporting, saw similar footfall. Bidhannagar Police enforced an emergency-crowd plan, suspending traffic on the VIP Road service lane and allowing two-way traffic on one flank. Kolkata Police added barricades in Gariahat to separate pandal-hoppers from shoppers while traffic police managed Hatibagan, where major pujas like Nabin Pally and Kashi Bose Lane just completed repairs after rain.
Organisers scrambled to manage the surge. "We doubled our volunteer strength by evening to prevent any hold-up in the rain," said Abhishek Bhattacharya, secretary of Tala Barowari. At 66 Pally, where the pandal was unaffected by rain, secretary Pintu Dasgupta said, "Ever since the CM inaugurated our puja, the crowd has been building. But Tritiya's turnout felt like ‘Bodhon' itself."
By 8.30 pm, Ekdalia Evergreen was overflowing with visitors taking photographs, while organisers struggled to regulate entry.
Mudiali Club, too, saw a surge. "We had to deploy 25 of our 40 volunteers earlier than planned," said secretary Ashok Dey.
At 41 Pally, volunteers were overwhelmed as traffic slowed near the pandal.
Many visitors travelled from districts to complete pandal-hopping before returning home for the main days of puja. College students Moutusi Saha and Sarbani Ghosh, spotted at Tridhara, said they had covered eight south Kolkata pujas by noon. "It's the best time to visit before the rush sets in. We'll finish by Sashthi and head home," Sarbani said.
