Tourist spots witness surge in footfall on last Sunday of the year
Kolkata: Tourist spots in the city witnessed huge footfall on the last Sunday of the year.
Immersed in festive mood, people were seen spending quality time with their family and friends in Eco Park, Victoria Memorial Hall, India Museum, Alipore Zoological Gardens and Nicco Park.
"Yuletide is incomplete without a picnic with family and friends. Yes, we are scared of COVID-19. Maintaining physical distance, we are enjoying with our family here (Alipore Zoological Gardens)," said Singhania Roy, a resident of
Gariahat. Alipore Zoo witnessed a footfall of 42,000 people on December 27, said Asis Kumar Samanata, Director of
Alipore Zoological Gardens, adding that the footfall remained 12,000 higher than Christmas Day.
Earlier, during pre-COVID-19 pandemic period, the footfall of visitors used to be between 3,000 and 4,000 on a normal day. Alipore Zoo, closed on March 17 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, was thrown open to the public on October 2. Around 42,000 people visited the ECO Park. Elaborate arrangements had been made for a trouble-free tour at the park for the visitors.
"Our school is closed due to COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we (all our school friends) decided to go for a picnic at ECO Park on December 27 to avoid the Christmas rush," said Pankaj Singh, a student of
class IX.
Nicco Park witnessed a footfall of around 5,000. However, on a daily basis (post- COVID-19 pandemic after reopening on October 15, the footfall varies between 1,500- 1,800.
