New Year 2025: Country immersed in New Year celebrations, crowd from sea to mountains, tight security arrangements

New Delhi: The enthusiasm of the New Year was seen at many tourist spots in the country. While a large number of people came to celebrate the New Year amidst snow in Himachal-Uttarakhand, a huge crowd of devotees was seen in Mathura-Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Kashi and Khatu Shyam Darbar. Due to the New Year celebrations, strict security arrangements were made at these places to control the crowd of people. Before the New Year, more than 14,000 soldiers were deployed for Mumbai security. Strict one-way entry and exit system has been implemented at Banke Bihari Temple to prevent crowding. Heavy deployment of police force has been done to control the crowd in Kashi and Ayodhya. Along with security, the convenience of the people coming to celebrate is also being taken full care of. All hotels and restaurants in Uttarakhand will remain open throughout the night for the convenience of the people.

Hotels and restaurants will open 24 hours in Uttarakhand

Tourists arrived in large numbers to celebrate New Year in Uttarakhand. Tourist places like Nainital, Bhawali, Bhimtal, Ramgarh, Mukteshwar, Gagar, Ranikhet, Almora, Kausani, Pauri, Auli, Dhanaulti, New Tehri, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Chakrata are almost packed. The government also directed to keep hotels, restaurants and other places open 24 hours for the convenience of the people. Nainital SSP Prahlad Narayan Meena said, the district police has made strict security arrangements for the New Year celebrations. A total of 345 police forces, including six COs and Inspectors, 55 SIs and ASIs, 244 head constables, 40 home guards and PRDs, have been deployed. Along with this, PAC and PRD jawans have also been put on duty.

Ban on VIP entry in Khatu Shyam Temple

Thousands of people reached the famous city of Baba Shyam in Sikar district of Rajasthan to start the New Year with the blessings of Khatu Shyam. On this occasion, the police administration has made security arrangements at every nook and corner for the safety of the devotees. To control the crowd, VIP entry has been banned. Along with this, cooperation is also being given by the administration in security and darshan arrangements. Shri Shyam Mandir Committee has decorated Baba’s own temple in a grand and attractive manner, in which many religious tableaux have been decorated along with the tableaux of the child form of Lord Shri Krishna. The temple has been illuminated with colorful lights. Baba Shyam’s special decoration has been done with colorful flowers brought from Kolkata and Delhi, which are attracting the devotees.

Tight security in Mumbai, more than 14,000 soldiers deployed

Over 14,000 police personnel have been deployed in Mumbai as part of an elaborate security arrangement to maintain law and order on New Year’s Eve. A large number of people turned out to celebrate New Year at major places in the city including Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Girgaum Chowpatty, Bandra Bandstand, Juhu and Versova Beach. Moreover, the celebrations are likely to continue in many hotels, restaurants and malls till Wednesday morning. Therefore, the police have made arrangements for strict surveillance to avoid any untoward incident in the city. More than 12,000 police constables, 2,184 officers, 53 assistant commissioners, 29 deputy commissioners and eight additional commissioner rank officers have been deployed as part of the security arrangements, the official said. Policemen in plain clothes will keep an eye on crowded places. The official said that New Year celebrations at many places will also be monitored through CCTV. Contingents of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Quick Reaction Team (QRT), bomb disposal squad, riot control police and Home Guards have also been deployed.

Religious places of UP filled with devotees

On New Year’s Eve, huge crowds of devotees gathered at the prestigious religious places of Uttar Pradesh – Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura. With security measures and crowd management plans in place, these religious places are ready for the spiritual beginning of 2025. There is a huge crowd of devotees in Ayodhya on New Year, especially thousands of people reached the Ram temple to seek blessings from Lord Ram. Hotels in Ayodhya and nearby Faizabad are fully booked and the temple trust has extended darshan hours to manage the expected crowd. Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajkaran Nayyar said that tight security arrangements will be made at major religious places like Ram Temple, Hanumangarhi and Guptar Ghat.

Ban on touch darshan in Kashi Vishwanath temple

To handle the influx of people on New Year, Kashi Vishwanath Temple has banned Sparsh Darshan from December 31 to January 1. To control the crowd of people, permission is being given to have darshan of the deity from a distance. Police have implemented extensive security measures, with 45 duty points set up at key locations including Assi Ghat and Sankat Mochan Mandir. Kashi Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Gaurav Bansal said, teams of NDRF, Water Police and PAC have been deployed at key places. With an estimated footfall of around five to seven lakh devotees, the temple area has been divided into five sectors and 12 quick response teams are ready to deal with any emergency.

Alert in Mathura-Vrindavan also

A huge crowd of devotees is also being seen in Mathura-Vrindavan. Temple authorities have urged the elderly, sick and children to avoid visiting during peak times. Munish Sharma, manager of Banke Bihari temple, said, “We advise devotees to assess the crowd before taking darshan to avoid inconvenience. Strict one-way entry and exit system has been implemented in the temple to prevent crowding. To control the influx of devotees, the number of security personnel has been increased and entry of heavy vehicles into Vrindavan has been banned. E-rickshaws have been started to take devotees to the temple. Police have set up barriers and deployed officers to ensure smooth movement and security. Also, special parking arrangements have been made for the devotees coming from different routes.