Devotees thronged various temples here from the early hours of Monday on the first day of the new year to offer prayers.
The sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple was opened at 4 a.m. to enable the public to have darshan.
Special abishekams were performed to the presiding deity and thousands of devotees waited in long queues for more than five hours to have darshan since early morning. Long queues were also spotted at Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Midnight mass and prayers were held at Immaculate Conception Cathedral and Sacred Heart Church in the town.
Police officers who managed the New Year eve crowds hardly had time to heave a sigh of relief as the celebrations passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. Day one of the new year turned out to be another stressful day at work for the city’s traffic police as they had to regulate the milling crowds at temples.
Through the day, traffic was bumper-to-bumper along Ambour Salai which branches off to Law De Lauriston Street leading to the Sri Manakula Vinayagar temple. A large number of devotees from across the country flocked the temples wishing to start the new year on an auspicious note. Apart from the beat officers, police officers were posted at vantage locations across the city to regulate the crowd.
