'Santa' presents helmets to errant riders in Park Street

Kolkata: Ahead of Christmas, a volunteer of Kolkata Traffic Police—dressed as Santa Clause—gave helmets to the motorcyclists near Allen Park in Park Street on Wednesday. As part of a traffic awareness campaign, Santa urged bikers not to ride two wheelers without wearing helmets.

The drive was launched to spread awareness before the festival, which attracts several people to the Park Street area. Around 2 pm, Santa stopped riders who were not wearing helmets and presented them one with a smile. Santa also gave away masks to those not wearing one. Children were given candies. Meanwhile, Kolkata Police have made an elaborate arrangement for Christmas in and around Park Street. Around 1200 police personnel will be deployed in Park Street and adjacent areas.

The whole area has been divided into five sectors. Five Deputy Commissioners (DC) will be supervising these sectors and a Joint Commissioner-ranked official will supervise the whole arrangement.

Around 10 watch towers have been set up to keep a tab on the crowd. Due to the pandemic situation this year, not much gathering will be allowed. People will be made aware through the public address system to maintain the COVID-19 protocol.

This apart, Quick Response Teams (QRT) will be posted at strategic positions to prevent any untoward incident. The officer-in-charge of all police stations have been asked to keep a tab in their respective areas to maintain law and order situation.