- Class XI student Afreen Khatun had only seen Christmas celebrations on Park Street through social media reels until her older sisters brought her there this year to take home a slice of the real festivities.
- A couple from Guwahati — Santanu Deori and his wife — who cook biryani on Eid and love dancing with the dhunuchi on Bijoya Dashami, said they would not miss Christmas on Park Street for anything and wanted their seven-year-old son to grow up embracing all religions.
Park Street on Thursday evening turned into a sea of people, with revellers arriving from across the city and beyond to celebrate Christmas — not just as a religious occasion, but as a festival of love, warmth and togetherness.
The surge in footfall made it impossible for vehicles to move, prompting police to declare the stretch a “walking street” around 5.40pm. The usually traffic-heavy road was divided into separate lanes for pedestrians moving in opposite directions to manage the crowd.
“To ensure law and order and the safety of women and children, we have channelled the crowd in two different directions,” said an officer.
People spilled over both the road and the footpaths, while long queues formed outside restaurants and pubs. At most popular eateries, the average waiting time exceeded an hour.
“All our tables have been full since 11am. Even now, at least 100 people are waiting outside,” said an official at Peter Cat around 7.45pm.
Similar scenes played out across Park Street, with many revellers insisting that their Christmas celebrations were incomplete without food and drinks at the city’s designated party district.
Tunir Sen, 25, a government employee from Dankuni in Hooghly, visited with friends. “This festival vibe can be found nowhere else but Park Street,” he said.
There were also first-time visitors curious about the hype. Soma Sarkar, 41, a home baker who remains especially busy during the year-end rush, had never managed to visit Park Street on Christmas. This year, she finally made it with her daughter and sister-in-law. “I always wondered why people come here on Christmas. Now I know what’s so special about this place,” she said with a smile.
To manage the massive turnout, uniformed and plainclothes police personnel were deployed across the area. Around 1,500 police officers were stationed on Park Street alone. “We are also using watch towers and drones for surveillance,” said an officer.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma, along with senior officers, visited Park Street at night. “Adequate police presence is ensured, and things are peaceful so far,” he said around 9.40pm.