Santiniketan, March 12: Over two lakh people, the highest in recent memory, visited Visva-Bharati to watch Basanta Utsav, the festival of colours.
After the programme ended around 9.30am at the ashram ground of the university, a massive traffic snarl built up on the three approach roads to Santiniketan as visitors, who had come in cars and buses or on foot, were leaving. It took over five hours for the roads to clear.
Police estimate that nearly 10,000 four-wheelers had come to Santiniketan from various parts of the state, including Calcutta, this morning through the Bolpur-Santiniketan Road, the Sriniketan-Bolpur Road and the Sriniketan-Santiniketan Road.
The officiating vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, Swapan Kumar Datta, told The Telegraph: "This year, I am sure the crowd that assembled to watch Basanta Utsav on the campus could challenge any political rally. I spoke to several people who have witnessed the event for many years. They said the crowd today was over two lakh."
Police officers involved in traffic management also said the footfall this year was the highest in recent memory. Visva-Bharati officials and the police had expected around 1.5 lakh people.
"As a large number of cars and buses carrying visitors started pouring into Santiniketan from 5.30am, we realised that the crowd would be bigger than what we had expected. Hundreds of youths from various parts of neighbouring districts, including Durgapur, Asansol and Murshidabad came in motorcycles," an officer said.
The district administration, in consultation with Visva-Bharati, had earmarked parking places at the Pous Mela ground, the Ratan Palli ground and behind Andrews Hospital in Sriniketan.
"The parking spaces were chock-a-block by 6.30am. This is the first time we saw such a rush of visitors at Basanta Utsav," a police officer who has been on duty at the festival for the past seven years said.
Around 11am, the three roads were choked and senior police officers began controlling traffic near the Tourist Lodge More.
"I came by a car from Calcutta and parked the vehicle at the Pous Mela ground. After the programme ended, I had breakfast and took my car out of the parking lot. It took two-and-a-half hours to travel the 2km to a relative's home in Bolpur. Hundreds and thousands of people were walking on the road," said Bikash Datta, a visitor from Calcutta.
A senior police officer said: "We were helpless as we were not ready to handle such a huge crowd and so many vehicles."