Around 3pm on Sunday, a couple of hearse vans were parked along a bylane off CR Avenue, less than 30 yards from Mohammad Ali Park.
They were meant to ferry the victims of the Chorebagan pandal tragedy from the police morgue at Medical College Kolkata. Streams of Puja revellers kept heading towards the pandal, past the vans.
Around 7pm, 24 hours after the stampede at Chorebagan Sarbajanin Durgotsav Samity, it was the familiar sight of people waiting to enter Mohammad Ali Park.
Many had thought puja revelry would be muted after the tragedy. But pandals across the city remained crowded on Sunday. Some organisers said the footfall was lower than the day before. Some others said it looked the same.
A string of big-ticket Pujas, including Chetla Agrani, Mohammad Ali Park, College Square and Tala Prattoy, were briefly shut for visitors following Saturday’s tragedy.
They reopened on Sunday.
“We are pleased to announce that the Tala Prattoy Durga Puja Mandap is now open for visitors,” the club posted on social media on Sunday.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused yesterday and thank you for your patience, understanding and continued support… The doors are open, and Tala Prattoy welcomes you with the same love and warmth as always,” said the post.
The entry was streamlined on Sunday. Volunteers and cops allowed visitors inside in batches.
The Puja was among those inspected on Sunday by a “high-level committee”, including disaster management secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and director general of fire services Anuj Sharma.
The committee has been instituted to review safety arrangements at major Durga Puja pandals.
Santosh Mitra Square, Hatibagan Sarbojonin, Chetla Agrani, Suruchi Sangha, Tridhara, Mudiali and Shibmandir were also packed when Metro visited between the afternoon and late evening.
Traffic was slow from the afternoon itself.
Rashbehari Avenue, which has several popular pandals in the vicinity, the Rashbehari connector and Durgapur bridge, Chetla and New Alipore saw long traffic snarls from the afternoon.
A popular roll seller at Gariahat had at least 20 people waiting around 6.30pm.
Metro trains were also crowded. However, an official said till 7pm, the total count across the corridors was around 2.3 lakh, compared to 3 lakh same time the day before.
Surendra Sharma, an organiser at Mohammad Ali Park, said the footfall “looked marginally lower” than Saturday. “Maybe some people from the districts chose not to come,” he said.
Santanu Banerjee, one of the organisers of the Durga Puja at Mudiali Club, said there was no significant difference in the footfall between Saturday and Sunday.
“People are still coming in large numbers,” he said.