The throng of revellers exploded in Calcutta as Sashthi set in.

Puja 2024 saw the most crowded Panchami and Sashthi in recent years, said the organisers of several blockbuster pujas.

As the days progressed, traffic crawled, forcing police and volunteers to restrict pedestrian crossovers.

Around 2pm on Wednesday, the gates of a popular eatery at the Rashbehari crossing were shut. Outside, a serpentine queue stretched over 300m, well into the adjoining Sadananda Road. Only a handful of people were let in at a time, as seats became vacant.

Metro Railway ferried around 9.5 lakh passengers on Panchami, said an official. The north-south Metro (Blue Line), between New Garia and Dakshineswar, saw 8.13 lakh passengers, among the highest Puja footfall in recent years.

The crowd count was arguably subdued on Tritiya and Chaturthi, said police sources and puja organisers. But the tide turned from Panchami, they said.

“Once people started coming out, they did it with a vengeance. A series of protests (against the RG Kar rape and murder) had probably kept a section of people off the roads. But the situation changed from Panchami,” said a police officer.

Flash protests at multiple pandals on Tuesday and Wednesday failed to have any impact on the surge in footfall.

Around Wednesday noon, there was still some space for pedestrians to walk without falling over one another. By early evening, the barricaded walkways near Suruchi Sangha looked like a can of sardines.

Similar scenes emerged elsewhere as roads started getting clogged from Deshapriya Park, Chetla and Behala in the south to Mohammad Ali Park in central Calcutta and Sreebhumi and Hatibagan in the north.

“We had not expected this surge on Panchami and Sashthi. The peak time was between 9pm and midnight. But even the early hours of the day have seen much more people," said Santanu Banerjee, one of the organisers of Mudiali Club Durga Puja.

Animesh Chattopadhyay, one of the organisers of the Maddox Square puja, said: “The crowd count seems higher on Panchami and Sashthi. For us, Chaturthi was also not bad.”

Around 3.30pm on Wednesday, a flash protest erupted at the Maddox Square pandal. A group of people started shouting slogans and flashing posters, seeking justice for the RG Kar victim.

Like every year, the Puja deployment of police started on Chaturthi. On Chaturthi and even till Panchami afternoon, the traffic kept moving.

But from Panchami evening, parts of south and north Calcutta saw traffic slowing down. On Sashthi, long snarls were reported from the afternoon.

On Wednesday afternoon, traffic was crippled on Central Avenue because of a stand-off between the police and junior doctors and other protesters. But the sheer volume of people also slowed traffic down, said police officers.

Traffic movement was slow in several pockets like Hatibagan, Tala, Mohammad Ali Park, College Square, Gariahat, Rashbehari Avenue, Mudiali, Chetla and New Alipore.

“At these places, pedestrian crossings are taking more time than usual. Whenever the drop gates or ropes are being lifted, a sea of pedestrians is moving from north to south or east to west. As a result, the tail of cars is getting longer,” said an officer.