New Delhi: As India gears up for New Year's Eve and to ring in 2025, authorities in major cities across the country have issued advisories for revellers to ensure safe and secure celebrations and prevent any untoward incidents.
Major New Year's Eve events are expected in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and other metropolitan cities, with police forces of respective states gearing up to ensure citizens' safety.
New Year's Eve: 20,000 police personnel to be deployed in New Delhi
Delhi Police has announced robust security arrangements for New Year's Eve, deploying nearly 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel to maintain law and order.
Increased security bandobast is being done in the border areas of the national capital, officials said. The police personnel, including traffic police and paramilitary forces, will be on the ground to check hooliganism and traffic violations. Delhi shares borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and lies close to Rajasthan. A large number of people from these three states arrive in the national capital for New Year's celebrations.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla large crowds are expected to gather in various clubs, hotels, restaurants, pubs, malls, eating houses, and parks in the national capital.
Special arrangements, he said, will be made for Connaught Place/Connaught Circus, Khan Market, five-star hotels, including The Lalit, Imperial, Park, Royal Plaza, Shangri-La, Le Meridien, Taj Mahal, Taj Vivanta, Metropolitan, Claridges, Ashoka, Samrat, ITC Maurya, and Taj Palace, India Gate, 'C' Hexagon and Kartavya Path, temples and gurudwaras.
The DCP further said that the arrangement is divided into two zones, with overall supervision by the DCP, New Delhi.
"Zone-A will be supervised by additional DCP-I at places like the Parliament Street and Connaught Place and Zone-B will be supervised by Additional DCP-II at places like Chanakya Puri, Barakhamba Road, and Tughlak Road. There will be four ACPs, 23 inspectors, 648 police staff, 100 home guards, 11 companies of Central Armed Police Force -- 10 companies of men and one company of women will be deployed," said the DCP.
According to police, buses headed towards Connaught Place will be diverted, starting from 7 pm on December 31, and the exit gates of Rajiv Chowk Metro Station will be closed after 9 pm on December 31 to prevent overcrowding. Two doctors will be deployed in the area to conduct medical examinations of people driving under the influence of alcohol. An Excise inspector will be deployed to check violations of Excise laws and prohibition regulations.
The DCP further said that searching/frisking of all individuals will be conducted, and no person will be allowed to consume liquor in public places, adding people with valid invitation cards from hotels/restaurants will be allowed to proceed towards Connaught Place.
New Year's Eve: No exit from Rajiv Chowk metro station after 9 pm
To ensure public safety, commuters will not be allowed to exit from Rajiv Chowk metro station after 9 pm on New Year's Eve, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Monday. However, the entry of passengers into the station will be allowed.
DMRC Principal Executive Director Anuj Dayal said as advised by police authorities, to ensure public safety and manage crowds on New Year's Eve on Tuesday, exit from Rajiv Chowk metro station will not be allowed from 9 pm onwards. The entry of passengers will be allowed until the departure of the last train from Rajiv Chowk station on Tuesday, he said.
Additionally, from 8 pm onwards, QR tickets for Rajiv Chowk station will not be issued through DMRC's mobile application to facilitate smooth implementation of these measures, he added. Dayal said metro services on the rest of the network will operate as per the regular timetable. Commuters are requested to plan their journeys accordingly and cooperate with the authorities.
New Year's Eve: 4500 Police Personnel Deployed In Kolkata
In order to ensure safe and secure new year celebrations, Kolkata Police has taken several measures including additional police deployment on New Year's Eve.
At a special press briefing ahead of the New Year celebrations, Commissioner of Police Kolkata, Manoj Kumar Verma said on Monday that 4,500 officers and personnel will be on duty on 31st Dec and 1st Jan to ensure adequate police presence at public hotspots like zoo, museum, Ganga Ghats, and parks.
Besides, sufficient Traffic Police personnel will be on duty to ensure smooth flow and prevent reckless or drunken driving, Verma said. Also, anti-crime teams including lady police and special anti-crime units have been deployed to prevent any mischief, he added.
The Kolkata Police has also deployed late-night patrolling to maintain safety and security even as extra arrangements have been made around Park Street for crowd management and safety.
The Commissioner of Police Kolkata appealed to people to avoid drunken driving, follow traffic rules and safety measures like wearing helmets and seek help from police assistance booths or on-duty officers if needed. The revellers have been asked to cooperate with the crowd and traffic circulation plans to make the New Year celebration safe and memorable for everyone.
New Year Celebrations To End By 1 AM In Bengaluru
Authorities in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru have banned New Year celebrations after 1 AM in the city while major flyovers in the capital city will be closed for motorists after 10 PM on New Year's eve.
In a statement issued ahead of New Year celebrations, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayanand said that steps have been taken to ensure that law and order is not disrupted during the New Year celebrations. The City Police Commissioner said that 11,830 police personnel have been deployed in Bengaluru city for safe and secure New Year celebrations.
A spokesperson for the Karnataka government said that to prevent any untoward incident including accidents due to the gathering of the public during the New Year celebrations, all types of vehicles have been restricted on all flyovers in Bengaluru city (except the elevated expressway leading to KIA Airport) from 11 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1.
The movement of two-wheelers on the airport elevated expressway has been restricted from 10 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1, said M.N. Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
Mumbai: Maharashtra Govt Extends Celebration Hours
Unlike the Karnataka government, which has limited the New Year celebrations to 1 AM, the BJP government in Maharashtra has extended the celebration hours till 5 AM on New Year's Day by allowing bars, pubs and restaurants to operate during the extra hours under strict police vigilance.
Meanwhile, to ensure smooth travel and enhance the New Year celebrations, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has announced special bus services on the night of December 31. A total of 25 additional buses will be deployed on various routes connecting popular tourist spots such as Gateway of India, Juhu Beach, Gorai Beach, and Marve Beach.
Ahead of the New Year 2025 celebrations in the city, Mumbai Police has issued a traffic advisory for motorists in south Mumbai. The police issued a list of traffic restrictions in south Mumbai and said that certain traffic regulations would be implemented from 15.00 hrs of 31st December 2024 till 06:00 hrs. of 1st January 2025.
In the traffic notification, the police said that in order to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic and to ensure safety of the pedestrians during the New Year celebrations, certain traffic regulations were being implemented except for emergency vehicles like the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, Ambulances etc.
Traffic restrictions including no parking on some roads, road closures, as well as parking arrangements, for the New Year 2025 celebrations were being made. There will be no parking facilities under the Colaba and Marin Drive Traffic Division, people are requested to use public transport, especially train/local trains, the police said.
The police said that the Mumbai Coastal Road will remain open from 31/12/2024, 23.00 hrs. to 01/01/2025, time 23.00 hrs. for vehicular traffic.
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