⚫Children throwing frisbees on the lawns of Eco Park, in New Town.

⚫Families enjoying picnics at Alipore zoo, Nicco Park in Salt Lake and Eco Park.

The mild winter sun made the weather pleasant on Sunday and people made a beeline for places such as Eco Park, Alipore zoo and Nicco Park.

Although the crowds were nowhere close to what these places witnessed around this time last year, the count was significantly more than what it was a month ago.

Most of last week saw a dense fog for the better part of the morning and the weather was gloomy. On Saturday and Sunday, the weather was perfect for spending time outdoors and people made most of it.

The weather will remain pleasant over the next few days. Kashmir received a fresh bout of snowfall this weekend. The cold northwesterly winds from the Valley are set to reach Calcutta over the next couple of days. “The speed of northwesterly winds is gradually increasing. From December 16-17, the intensity of the winds will go further up and drag the mercury below 15 degrees,” said a Met official.

Here is what The Telegraph saw in the city’s hotspots on Sunday.

A crowded Eco Park on Sunday

Eco Park

The 480-acre park in New Town with a 113-acre water body in the middle was abuzz since Sunday morning. The crowd peaked around 4pm.

As the evening progressed, the stretch of Major Arterial Road leading to the park had quite a bit of traffic, reminiscent of the days when the road would have bumper-to-bumper vehicles in the evening, prompting police to deploy additional force in front of the park.

On Sunday, more than 16,000 people had visited the park. Many settled down on the park's ground and around the waterbody and ate. Before the pandemic, the weekend footfall at the park would not be less than 20,000, said an official.

Namrata Choudhury, a resident of Phoolbagan who came to the park with a group of friends, said they were tired of being cooped up at home and decided to have the season’s first picnic at Eco Park.

“We decided to come here and have lunch. We also brought our badminton rackets,” Choudhury said.

Alipore zoo

The zoo had a mix of people of all ages waiting in front of the ticket counters.

The promenade outside the zoo resembled its old self with hawkers selling peanuts, soft drinks and toys, while fast food stalls had their usual share of crowds. Inside the zoo, people of all ages were spotted having a good time, heading out to see their favourite animals.

The enclosure of the tiger and the enclosure of the chimpanzees were the top crowd pullers.

An official of the zoo said they had a footfall of more than 15,000 on Sunday. Before the pandemic, on weekends, the footfall would be around 45,000, said an official.

According to the official, the crowd has been growing since November, when the average weekend footfall was around 5,000.

Nicco Park

The Salt Lake amusement park had a steady stream of visitors on Sunday.

An official of the park said the day’s footfall — nearly 2,000 — was quite encouraging for the employees. Pre-pandemic days, the footfall would be around 15,000 on weekends.

The rides and the food court were among the top draws.

“The crowd is going up steadily every weekend and we are quite excited as things are finally looking up,” said Abhijit Dutta, the MD and CEO of Nicco Park.

Crowd-Puller

A sea of visitors

Outside the tiger enclosure at Alipore zoo on Sunday

A crowded Eco Park on Sunday Gautam Bose