Thousands throng Nandi Hills to celebrate New Year

Over 12,000 people thronged the Nandi Hills on Monday and celebrated the New Year.

It turned out to be a prosperous day for the Horticulture department as it earned a record Rs 2.69 lakh revenue on the first day of 2018.

A majority of the visitors were families on a picnic, while there were several young couples too.

They played several games and consumed food together. Youngsters cut cake to mark the arrival of the New Year. A few shopkeepers atop the Hills made brisk business due to heavy crowd. However, the dream of many visitors to see the sunrise did not materialise as the police had restricted vehicles at the checkpost itself. The way for the Hills was cleared only after 8 am. There was less congestion till noon and the number of visitors slowly increased later. There was heavy congestion around 3 pm.

As many as 2,421 bikes, 1,402 cars, 56 autorickshaws and 24 buses were at the Hills, while the number of visitors was 12,438. The police had deployed 60 constables and 15 traffic police inspectors to curb illegal activities and accidents.

The police closed the road around 6 pm at the checkpost.