City welcomes 2016 amid revelry

An illuminated MG Road and Brigade Road came alive on the eve of the New Year as scores of youth flocked the heart of the City awaiting the arrival of 2016.

Loud cheers, dance and music marked the celebrations with the stroke of midnight at Brigade Road. Revellers poured on to the streets wishing each other a prosperous new year. While a few wore bright party wear, some picked colourful masks.

Traffic restrictions and long queue at pubs and restaurants  failed to kill their spirit.
The revelry was seen across the City but the jubilation hit the crescendo at Brigade Road, MG Road, Church Street and St Marks Road that wore a bridal look due to extraordinary illumination and loud music. People were also seen taking selfies to secure their moments of joy.

Taxi ride
Exorbitantly priced taxi rides also did not deter people from hitting the City centre. Several cab aggregators had hiked their prices by nearly five times.

Traffic restrictions were in place in and around MG Road.

Food delivery services were also unavailable for these locations on Thursday.Many found it  convenient to party at home. City-based techie Archana Rao, who wished to have
a peaceful New Year, said partying at home was better.

“Not only will the prices be exorbitant but also reaching places such as Koramangala, Indiranagar and MG Road would be tough. Hence, we have planned a small family get together,” she added. The police had made elaborate security arrangements in the Central Business District and especially on MG Road and Brigade Road.

Watchtowers were erected and armed policemen with night-vision binoculars monitored the revellers. Close to 100 CCTV cameras of City police and private establishments had been installed. There were two metal detectors right at the entrance of Brigade Road and everybody was thoroughly screened. City Police Commissioner N S Megharik, Additional Commissioner (West) Prathap Reddy and DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil personally monitored the security situation at MG Road and Brigade Road.