As the clock struck 12, colourful fireworks brightened the city sky to usher in a New Year with optimism and hope.
While masked revellers thronged the streets, whistling and going wild with high energy and enthusiasm, DJs played out track after track of popular music in nightclubs and party venues. However, the thousands who gathered on Brigade Road and M.G. Road looked like a smaller crowd compared with previous years.
Many people flocked neighbourhood hotels and restaurants on the New Year’s eve to take away food parcels for parties and get-togethers.
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There were long queues outside restaurants in Fraser Town and the staff were in a hurry to please impatient customers. Liquor was in demand, and wine shops made brisk business even as they charged more than the usual rate.
Security
Meanwhile, the police had made elaborate arrangements to avoid untoward incidents.
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About 16,000 police personnel, including plainclothesmen, were deployed near M.G. Road and Brigade Road.
As many as 12 watchtowers were set-up with floodlights and police personnel with cameras and binoculars kept watch on the crowd. Seven persons were detained from Brigade Road after they created nuisance in an inebriated state.
Another trouble-maker, who was inebriated, stood in the middle of Brigade Road blocking traffic for a brief time. He had to be removed by policemen.
The police also examined a coffee shop on Brigade Road after they were informed that a scuffle had broken out outside the shop. Though it turned out to be a hoax, curious onlookers gathered there, affecting traffic.