Residents flock at Eco Park on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Residents capped off the weeklong festivities of Diwali, Bhai Dooj-Chitragupt Puja and Chhath with a Sunday outing in the balmy pre-winter sun.

Chhath holidays, which is usually for two days, got extended by a day with Sunday following Doosri Arghya, giving residents the opportunity to spend more quality time with family and friends.

Holidaymakers thronged Rajdhani Vatika, popular as Eco Park, the zoo, P&M Mall and Mauryalok complex.

“Devotees get completely exhausted after observing the four-day Chhath rituals and people mostly take rest on Doosri Arghya. But this time, we were fortunate to get an extra day to refresh our minds before resuming work on Monday,” said Shailendra Dixit, a state government employee.

The extended holiday also came as a bounty for professionals, who came home from other cities to observe Chhath. “Had it not been a Sunday today, I would have left for Delhi yesterday (Saturday). But as Sunday is my weekly off, I got to spend an extra day with my family. I took my entire family to watch Krrish 3 last (Saturday) night,” said Saurav Kumar, an engineer with a multinational firm in Gurgaon.

Multiplexes seemed to be the preferred choice for most people. “Though there were no shows till 3pm on Saturday, the footfall in the remaining hours was around 2,000, which was way beyond normal for half a day. Similarly, the footfall till 3pm on Sunday was around 2,500, better than any other weekend in the past two months,” said Abhishek Ranjan, unit manager, Cinepolis.

“My brother’s family had come from Kanpur for Chhath. My nephews asked me to show them Patna zoo. The kids spent most of the time in front of the lion, tiger and camel enclosures. They took the train back to Kanpur in the evening,” said Amritesh Pandey, a resident of Sheikhpura.

Eco Park too was brimming with people who came with families and friends. Kids were seen enjoying on the swings, while elders sat on the grass and chatted.

Strictures on non-vegetarian food over with Chhath, foodies crowded the Chinese fast food stalls at Mauryalok and restaurants on Saturday and Sunday evenings.