New Delhi: Kolkata is gearing up to get into festive mode with the Durga Puja, the much-awaited Durga Puja. Every year, Bengalis celebrate it with much pomp and splendour, and this year is going to be no exception.
Those who are in the city and people planning to visit Kolkata during the festival season should consider travelling by metro as the traffic on road will be very congested. The
Durga Puja celebration, which takes place for five days and will happen from September 28 to October 2 this year, witnesses unprecedented crowds thronging the streets.
Metro services the most convenient public transport system
Lakhs of pandal-hoppers will take to the streets in Kolkata to witness the grandeur of Durga Puja. The buses will be jampacked, cabs will be hard to find, and roads will be blocked by traffic. Amid such a scenario, most people can avail metro train services as it will be the most convenient public transport system.
The Kolkata Metro, to manage the
festive rush, has launched a new initiative with a special Tourist Smart Card offering unlimited journeys for three or five days. As per the authorities, the daily Metro footfall can touch 11-12 lakhs this year.
What is the Tourist Smart Card?
Those availing of the Tourist Smart Card can enjoy unlimited metro rides. As per reports, if they want to do so for three days, they have to shell out only Rs 250, and for five days, the price is at Rs 550. The Kolkata Metro has made this statement that they have made this move to "facilitate travel of a large number of tourists/visitors during the ensuing Durga Puja." It will help tourists avoid the long queues for tokens or recharges in the metro stations.
It is different from regular Smart Cards by offering unrestricted travel within the period of validity. Those who have regular Smart Cards should continue using that and commuters can also use digital tickets to avoid long queues. One can get the Tourist Smart Cards from the Aamar Kolkata Metro application. Notably, from September 21, which was Mahalaya, the Kolkata Metro is running more metro services.
Also, the number of rakes on the Green Line has increased since Saturday. Earlier, 186 metro trains were running from Monday to Saturday. But from Saturday, the number of metro trains has been increased to 226. The number of metro trains has been increased in both the morning and the evening. Along with this, the time gap has also reduced.
