Kolkatans hit the roads in numbers on Christmas Eve amid anxiety and the looming threat of a rise in Covid cases driven by Omicron.
Thousands — many without masks — descended on Park Street in the heart of the city to see the lights on Friday evening.
A police officer on the city’s party corridor said at 7pm that he could see around 1,200 people. An hour later, he said the count swelled to 2,000.
At 11.30pm, the same officer said the footfall on Park Street crossed 2,000.
About 3,000 cops were deployed on and around Park Street. As the evening wore on, their main task was to prevent people from spilling on the thoroughfare so traffic could move.
Traffic on Park Street was nevertheless slow because many cars were slowing down as people inside clicked pictures and took selfies.
Separate channels were made for pedestrians.
“Every second person on the road is not wearing a mask. We are requesting them to not take risks and think about their families at least,” said an officer at the Park Street-Camac Street crossing.
Another officer, posted near Park Street Metro station, said the majority of the people stepping out of the Metro tunnel were wearing masks but were taking off the crucial Covid shield soon after for selfies.
“Taking a selfie was the biggest excuse they had for not wearing a mask. Some said they forgot, while some said they were carrying the mask safely folded in their pocket,” said the officer.
The police have installed sanitiser dispensers on Park Street and were handing out masks.
As Kolkatans — young and old — stepped out of their homes leaving behind the infection scare, two more cases of Omicron and 217 new cases of Covid were reported on Friday and Thursday, respectively.
Six patients have so far tested positive for Omicron, a highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus that was first detected last month in South Africa and is spreading at an alarming rate across the world, in the state till Friday.
The daily new Covid case counts in the city have not declined for several weeks now. Health department officials and public health experts fear Omicron might drive a fresh surge.
“It is extremely important not to forget the basic Covid protocol we have been following for two years,” said a public health expert.
On Friday, Park Street was divided into multiple zones to prevent crime as well as to ensure people wear masks.
A senior officer said the mood on Park Street on Friday night was almost like pre-pandemic times.
“People seem to have overcome the fear of infection. The footfall now is definitely more than what it was last year,” the officer of the rank of assistant commissioner, who has managed festive crowds on Park Street multiple times, said.
On Park Street in the wee hours of Saturday Amit Datta/ My Kolkata
Vendors selling balloons, battery-fitted reindeer headgear and flutes said they had “good sales” compared with last year’s Christmas Eve.
“I sold 26 flutes today. Last year, the business was bad. I am hoping for even better sales tomorrow,” said Shambhu Majhi, a hawker from New Market who shifted to Park Street for two days.
Restaurants were full on Christmas Eve, leaving many disappointed.
“I was hoping to dine with my family here. But all tables are booked and the police are asking not to queue outside the restaurants. We are heading for some other place,” said Nitin Khanna, a resident of Ballygunge in south Kolkata.