Kolkata: Office-goers heading home on Monday evening found themselves caught in a traffic mess as shoppers and early pandal-hoppers hit Kolkata’s streets on Dwitiya, giving the city a taste of the festive rush well before the actual puja days.A combination of reasons — office-goers leaving early, school traffic, market-bound vehicles and VIP inaugurations involving political functionaries and celebrities — put pressure on key roads. Lalbazar said more than 1,000 traffic personnel were deployed, though a larger festive deployment will be on the road from Tritiya.There was a considerable rush of revellers at Santosh Mitra Square, Sreebhumi, Tridhara Sammilani, Nalin Sarkar Street and Alipore Sarbojanin in the evening.“Slow traffic movement was also reported even from CR Avenue and JL Nehru Road due to the combined effect of New Market shoppers, a political rally, VIP movement and office-goers leaving earlier than usual,” said a senior police officer. By 6.30 pm, several important crossings in both south and north Kolkata — like Park Circus and Ballygunge Phari — witnessed severe slowing down of traffic that did not spare even the Maa Flyover.The school zone around AJC Bose Road and Park Street, market areas around Gariahat and New Market, and stretches affected by last-minute infrastructure work, like Burdwan road, witnessed slow movement from morning to evening.Police deployment at crucial crossings, including Rashbehari Avenue, Gariahat, Park Street and PTS, helped prevent a complete gridlock.“We still had a few things to buy for the puja, but we also wanted to visit some pandals before the crowds become unmanageable. With so little time left, we decided to combine both,” said Sreetama Sengupta, who was shopping in Gariahat.At several venues, organisers were forced to switch on the lights before their formal inaugurations as visitors arrived in growing numbers. “Our pandal will officially get inaugurated on Wednesday, but such was the rush that we had to switch on the lighting,” said Swapan Mahapatra, secretary of Ekdalia Evergreen.At Mudiali, security arrangements were stepped up ahead of CM Suvendu Adhikari’s scheduled inauguration on Tuesday. “We had to call in 10 security guards as pandal-hoppers arrived in dozens from 6 pm. From Chaturthi, we will have 18 on duty in each shift,” said Ashok Dey.Police flagged another complication: pandal structures and temporary pedestrian channels were eating into carriageway space, forcing pedestrians off pavements. The problem was reported on SP Mukherjee Road, Hazra Road, Laudon Street, DH Road and Beliaghata Road.
