With the weather showing signs of improvement, Puja revellers have hit the streets on Chathurthi evening to make the best use of their free time. Large crowds indulged in pandal-hopping. Metros and buses in the city were mostly stuffed with people while large contingents of civic volunteers were deployed to avert any accident on the road. Several roads leading to the big-ticket puja pandals were brimming with crowds, jostling for every space to have a glimpse of the Devi.

The theme-based pujas, as expected, were crowd-pullers. Students were seen hopping from one pandal to the other while foodies savoured lip-smacking delicacies from road side stalls near most of the Puja pandals. Vehicular movements virtually came to a standstill in several parts of the city. Buses and metro rakes saw an unprecedented rush of commuters. With several offices and colleges still remaining open, the crowd added to the rush. Meanwhile, chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, today inaugurated Pujas at Suruchi Sangha, Alapi Durgotsav, Alipore Sarbojanin, Alipore Body Guard Line, Mahesh Pally, Chetla Shanti Pally and Alipore 78 Pally. These pandals saw long queues of people ever since the pandal gates were thrown open for the public.

Almost all major Pujas from north to south drew massive crowds, though the Puja is still two days away. The most popular Puja organisers are Sreebhumi Sporting Club, Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra, Lake Town Adhibasi Brinda, Tala Barowari, Telengabagan, Hatibagan, Bagbazar Sarbojanin, Chaltabagan Lohapatty, Kumortuli Park, Ahiritola Sarbajanin, Santosh Mitra Square, College Square, Simla Byam Samiti, Maddox Square, Ekdalia Evergreen, Tridhara Sammelani, Hindusthan Park, Chetla Agrani, Naktala Udayan Sangha, Deshopriya Park, Ballygunge Cultural, Samaj Sebi Sangha, Mudiali, Bosepukur Sitala Mandir. Ayantika Das, a college student, who came to visit Tala Barowari puja pandal with her friends, said: “The Puja mood has set in. Although I enjoy pandal-hopping very much, but I don’t like the crowd. This is why I have plans to visit all the majors Pujas by Sasthi. But the rush of the maddening crowd has already begun. The buses are crawling on the road.”

A middle-aged woman, who was savouring fuchkas, said ” This is the main essence of teh Puja. It is a must to have golgappas in Puja. We are heading for another round of pandal-hopping.” Police, meanwhile, have made tight security arrangements for crowd control. Special security arrangements were made near 40 major big-budget Pujas and other smaller community Pujas. The police have also beefed up security at key Metro rail stations and major roads of the city. Special teams were set up for vigil near pandals during late night hours to prevent any harassment. Nearly 7,000 officers were deployed for crowd management today.

This year, around 2,600 community Pujas are being held besides the household Pujas. Bus routes diverted: Several bus and mini bus routes have been diverted, curtailed and suspended following the restriction of plying of buses on Tallah bridge during the Pujas. Heavy goods vehicles have also been barred from plying on it as the condition of the bridge is unfit for vehicles weighing over three tonnes.

Private buses and mini buses from Esplanade, Park Circus and Howrah bound for Dum Dum, Dunlop, Dakshineswar, Nagerbazar, Belghoria, Gouripur, Kamarhati, Tobin Road, Barrackpore and Saheb Bagan have been diverted via Indra Biswas Road, Ultadanga Main Road, Maniktala Main Road, Kankurgachhi crossing, EM Bypass, R. G. Kar Road, and Belgharia Expressway. These routes are 30A, 30B, 32A, 34C, 78, 78/1, 201, 202, 214, 230, 234, K-3, K-4, K-9, S- 158, S-159, S-164, S-168, S-180, S-181, S-185 and 43/1. Several routes operated by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) have been diverted via Chiria More, Dunlop, Ariadaha and Vidyasagar Setu. Routes of buses such as AC- 28, EB-1, S-11, S-15G, D-4/1, 32B, 222 and S-161 have been shortened upto Bagbazar, Chiria More, P. K. Mukherjee Road and Kolkata Railway Station respectively.

As many as five WBTC bus services have been suspended till further notification. These routes are AC-17B, 11A, S-14C, M-34 and S-58. The transport department has introduced auto services between Sinthee More and Shyambazar Metro Station to ease the traffic congestion.