Bengaluru, 1 Jan

Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said the New Year celebrations in Bengaluru and across the State concluded peacefully without any untoward incidents.

Commending the police department for efficiently managing the situation, he expressed his gratitude to the public for cooperating with authorities in maintaining law and order.

"Lakhs of people and youth gathered for last night's New Year celebrations. The events remained peaceful, with no untoward incident reported for the first time in the state," Parameshwara said while conveying his New Year greetings.

"I thank and applaud the people, especially the youth in Bengaluru and other parts of the state for being cautious and cooperating with the police... police have managed successfully without any incident," he added.

According to police, a total of 11,830 personnel, including senior officers and civil defence staff were deployed across Bengaluru city to maintain strict vigilance and to ensure no untoward incidents took place.

As usual, it was a long night for the police, while Karnataka ushered in the new year with cakes and parties, selfies and shopping.

On the occasion of New Year, temples were crowded with people flocking to seek blessings.

Thanks to the watchful eyes of the police, Bengaluru too saw a largely peaceful celebration, despite people jostling for elbow space in high streets.

More than 28,127 vehicles were checked and the number of cases registered for drunk driving was 513.

 Koramangala, Brigade Road, Church Street and MG Road, especially, got very crowded as the night wore on.

Traffic, too, remained under control mostly. With Namma Metro chipping in, by increasing the frequencies and the service time, a lot of people used metros. Stations like MG Road, which abut party and shopping areas saw an unusually high footfall, said metro sources. -PTI