Revellers, who chose this city to witness the dawn of 2015, were spoilt for choice as hotels, restaurants and event management teams threw their doors open to more than two dozen New Year-eve parties across the Puducherry region, attracting residents and tourists in large numbers. Residents also queued up for private parties organised by associations and clubs.
Music at the parties varied from popular Hindi and Tamil film tracks, hip hop, English pop and the latest Electronic Dance Music (EDM) numbers spun by DJs who had been specially invited from other cities for the events.
Organisers charged entry fees from around Rs. 1000 to Rs. 10,000, with most places closing around 1 a.m.
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Event organisers attracted patrons with games, fireworks, gift hampers, face and body painting, party accessories, elaborate buffets and unlimited drinks. Many of the parties also differentiated themselves with themes, while some restricted entry to couples.
For DJs, it was the big night and they needed to have a few aces up their sleeve through the show. At The Promenade, for instance, grooving crowds pressed DJ Jesse Fox-Allen for an encore even after the programme had wound up and he obliged them with one last song.
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The Chunnambar area also turned into a party zone, with resorts and event organisers hosting multiple parties in the region, including one on the Paradise Beach Island which faced some difficulties owing to shortage of transport facilities to the island. There was some more trouble for party goers in the area as a group of around 30 volunteers of the Hindu Munnani turned up, alleging that a dance show that was injurious to Indian culture had been organised as part of the New Year celebrations. Police personnel held talks with the agitators and pacified them. The police took a few representatives of the outfit to the Paradise Beach and convinced them that no objectionable programmes were held. The activists later lodged a complaint with the Ariyankuppam police.
However, Tameez from The Global Voyage, an event management company and travel agency based in Puducherry, said that the party held at Chunnambar Boat House went off smoothly with around 300 guests and DJs Michael and Bennitto ensuring they had a good time.
The largest crowd, though, was at Puducherry’s most popular spot, the Beach Road, with more than a thousand people turning up. The Traffic Police had turned it into a pedestrian-only zone as early as 4.30 p.m. The police used mild force on a group of revellers who created ruckus on the Beach Road. Those present said a group of revellers were celebrating beyond the stipulated hours and created trouble for women tourists in the name of exchanging pleasantries. The police resorted to a mild caning and chased them away and brought the situation under control.
Youngsters turned the Boulevard area into mini-party zones, with many indulging in rash driving. By Thursday morning, signs of the all-night parties were evident on the streets with the roads strewn with litter.
An official from the Tourism Department said that though the department was yet to collect and aggregate data for arrival of tourists since September, most hotels had reported around 90 per cent occupancy rate for the last week of December, which is considered peak tourist season in Puducherry. “The last two weeks of December have been very good for the hospitality industry in Puducherry with the large arrival of tourists with school holidays, year end vacations, people availing their leave travel allowance (LTA) and arrival of international tourists. All hotels have definitely done reasonably well,” said Ravindra Raju, General Manager, Hotel Accord. He added that the different New Year parties and events hosted by the hotel attracted around 650 guests.
While officials are still collecting data on the sale of liquor for the year and for the period between Christmas and New Year, early indicators suggest that sales have been higher this year.