Park Street was closed to traffic at 4.53pm on Monday as the crowd of revellers swelled and spilled on to the road.
“We had planned to make the road available to pedestrians only from 5pm,” said a senior police officer.
Park Street was thrown open to traffic again at 9pm.
At 4.50pm, a visitor was recording the scene standing at the Park Hotel arcade. As he moved his phone 180 degrees from west to east, the camera recorded a sea of people.
A woman in the crowd said what was special about Park Street on Christmas was that so many people walked without a destination. There was no pandal like in Durga Puja, the lights were nearly similar every year — bells, stars and drop-down lights — yet people keep coming in large numbers every year.
“I think it is the vibrancy of the place that draws everybody to Park Street. People just come to soak in the Christmas spirit. We will again go back to work for another week. It is enjoying an evening before getting back to the daily grind,” said the woman who had come with her friends.
When police finally closed Park Street to traffic after struggling for some time to let cars and people move alternately, it seemed like a marathon just got under way.
Visitors were seen running on to Park Street. The policemen ran to the middle of the road to avoid getting struck down by the sea of incoming crowds.
Police officers made a passage in the middle of the road by installing barricades where visitors were not allowed. The passage served as a pathway for the police to reach any spot faster than the revellers around them. It could also be used for rescue in case of an emergency.
Within minutes, Park Street was jammed with people. Even if one wished to walk fast or past others, it was impossible.
Argha De, who came with his wife and daughter from the northern fringe of the city, said they had come to see the lights. “We have seen so many people posting videos of the decorated Park Street on Instagram that we wanted to see it for ourselves. We have plans for dinner,” he said.
There were some spots where visitors managed to stop and click pictures. A Christmas tree outside Allen Park has been a favourite every year.
Revellers wore red hats, reindeer hairbands and headbands of artifical flowers that also had twinkling lights.
Those who walked on to Park Street from the Chowrigee Road crossing were not allowed to turn back. They had to take the roads branching off from Park Street, like Camac Street, Free School Street or Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, or walk till the Mullickbazar-end of Park Street.
The restaurants had separate crowds — those who preferred to sit quietly and have a drink or enjoy the food.
Anand Puri, the owner of Trincas, said there was hardly a moment when the restaurant did not have guests.
“The restaurant was packed during lunchtime. In the late afternoon and evening it was full of people ordering coffee and desserts,” Puri said. Trincas also had live music for the guests.
An officer said 3,000 police personnel were deployed across the city on Christmas, including 1,200 on Park Street alone for traffic and crowd management.
Special police deployments were made at hotspots like the Victoria Memorial, the Alipore zoo, Birla Planetarium, Millennium Park, among others.
In New Town and Salt Lake, around 3,000 police personnel were present on the streets on Sunday and Monday. The majority were posted in New Town to tackle the crowd of visitors headed to Eco Park, Eco Urban Village and the aircraft museum, among others.