Kolkata: The Alipore Zoological Garden recorded footfall of 63,820 on Christmas with increasing numbers of people choosing to book tickets online. However, the authorities had opened additional counters to ensure a smooth ticketing process.
Apart from counters, additional security and around 200 police personnel were deployed at the zoo to manage the crowd inside the zoo. The number of people visiting the zoo on Christmas day was slightly lesser than the footfall recorded on Sunday, which was 70,000. An official reasoned that the huge footfall on Sunday was because of it being a weekend and Christmas Eve.
During holidays, particularly during winter, the authorities expect throngs of people visiting the zoo. There have been many facility upgrades for better service to the visitors which includes booking of tickets through online platforms. According to an official, around 8,000 people booked their tickets online for December 25.
Other parks like Eco Park, Nicco Park and places like Indian Museum, Science City and Victoria Memorial also recorded people coming in thousands. Eco Park was opened up for people from 10 am and arrangements were ensured to handle the expected crowd.
Wrapped in fairy lights and decorative designs, Park Street with its lined up eateries and bars remained one of the favourite spots for people. Bakeries had long queues of people waiting to pick their orders of rum and fruit cakes.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) were deployed at all entry and exit gates at Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan, Rabindra Sadan and Dum Dum Metro stations on December 25. A total of 194 Metro services were plied instead of 288 services on December 25. The service started at 8:55 am and the last service was available at 11:10 pm from Kavi Subhash and 10:58 pm from Dum Dum. During peak hours in the evening, Metro services were available at an 8-minute interval in this Corridor.
Meanwhile, 90 services instead of 106 services were plied on the Green Line. First service in this line started from 6:55 am from Sealdah and 7 am from Salt Lake Sector V while the last service was at 9:35 pm from Sealdah and 9:40 pm from Salt Lake Sector V. Services were available at an interval of 20 minutes.