Guwahati, Oct 18: The Bishnupur Sarbajanin Durga Puja recorded a footfall of nearly 1.5 lakh visitors on the opening day, with crowds thronging the venue until 5 am on Saturday.
Visitors queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the ‘Naglok’-themed pandal, built over water and featuring boat rides and bridges to facilitate movement across the venue.
The massive turnout also triggered traffic congestion in the locality, with long queues of vehicles stretching late into the night.
Many visitors had to park their vehicles nearly a kilometre away and walk to the venue.
Some visitors reportedly returned without entering the pandal after struggling to negotiate the crowds.
Those who managed to reach the venue said it took them more than two hours to traverse a distance of around 300 metres.
The narrow lanes in the locality further aggravated the congestion.
Amid the rush, visitors were seen asking shopkeepers and commuters, “Where is the puja with the boat rides?”
For the first time in the State, online tickets were made available through BookMyShow at Rs 199 each. The committee decided to issue 500 tickets a day.
Committee general secretary Debasish Das said all 500 online tickets for the opening day had been sold out instantly.
“We could not go home last night as the crowd remained until morning. However, we are glad that people are appreciating our efforts,” he said.
On security arrangements, Das said the committee had deployed around 100 volunteers, 50 NCC cadets, and 10 private security guards to manage the crowds and ensure visitors’ safety.