The city wore a festive look with scores of revellers celebrating the first of the New Year with a visit to popular tourist places on Monday.
The beach road was bustling with people who enjoyed the evening at the entertainment zones and cafes dotting the long coastal stretch. The newly opened TU-142 aircraft museum saw a snaking queue of visitors. There were selfies galore as tourists came out of the one-of-its-kind museum and posted updates on social networking sites.
Several photography enthusiasts and short filmmakers captured the first sunrise and sunset of 2018 with their paraphernalia of lenses. Instagram and Facebook were flooded with pictures of the New Year revelry. Malls across the city and multiplexes at Maddilapalem, VIP Road, Dabagardens and Jagadamba areas were decorated with festoons, buntings and lights to usher in the New Year.
Meanwhile, bakeries and cafes made good business with individuals and corporate orders pouring in. “Apart from bulk orders for hampers, we also had a very encouraging start to the New Year on our special dessert menu which included sweet chocolate dosa, chocolate sandwich, chocolate pani puri and chocolate roll among others,” said Radhika Satish of Radisa. Florists saw their business soar with many vendors even setting up make-shift stalls at the city footpaths well beyond Monday midnight.
Some decided to ring in the New Year in an eco-friendly way. A team of 10 people went on a nature trek from PM Palem to Sambhuvanipalem reservoir. “We did bird watching and made a resolution to adapt an eco-friendly lifestyle,” said Santosh Chowdary, a nature lover. A large number of devotees thronged temples, churches, gurudwara, mosques and other religious places to start the New Year on a pious note. However, as per a directive from the Endowments departments temples were not decked up with floral decorations. No special rituals were conducted and only regular pujas were performed on the occasion. Authorities of various temples, however, made arrangements for ensuring smooth darshan for devotees.
