As Christmas is round the corner, the traditional ways of Kolkata to celebrate it are all set. Twinkling lights, streets filled with people, music, food and jingle bells – Park Street is all decked up with all of these and much more. The visitors to Park Street are ready to enjoy the festival. In Kolkata, Christmas is not about just the Christians but it belongs to everyone irrespective of his religion, caste or age.
Hotels, restaurants, cafes and clubs are being adorned with colourful lights to celebrate 25 December. Most of them are offering lucrative discounts to the customers. Stalls have been set up selling homemade chocolates, eco-friendly utensils, traditional French cakes and other food items. Shops selling Christmas decorative items can be seen almost everywhere in the park street area.
“Every year we put up these stalls a week before Christmas. During the Christmas week, there is a huge rush around these stalls. We feel very happy and excited,” said Wahab, while selling ecofriendly utensils to a group of college students. Like every year, the giant Christmas tree has been placed beautifully near the Allen Park. The crowd that visits the Park Street for the celebration doesn’t miss a single chance to take pictures with the tree. There are special barricades placed around the tree for security and to make it easy for the citizens to enjoy.
As Christmas has become an integral festival of the cultural calendar of the city of joy, Christmas celebration begins more than a week ahead at the Allen Park. The festival will go on till 30 December. Numerous programmes like cultural performances, quizzes and carol singing have been lined up for the next few days. In between these joyous functions, Kolkata Police launched the redesigned Bondhu app with new and unique features to make people’s life easier and safer.
Amidst all of these, arrangements for smooth pedestrian movement have been made by the Kolkata Police. On 24th, force will be deployed in the Park Street area from 4 pm till midnight to control the rush. With two Quick Response Teams and 11 watch towers under 11 deputy commissioners, Park Street will be under strict vigilance on Christmas eve as well as on Christmas day.
As many as 20 extra CCTV cameras have been installed to keep a tab on the movement of crowd. Winners Team, a team comprising women officers, will be deployed for women’s safety. Additional police personnel will be deployed at the metro station also. Special vigilance on clubs, restaurants, hotels, shopping centres and churches is being arranged. Eight ambulances and three High Radio Flying Squads (HRFS) team will be kept ready for any emergency condition.