Chandigarh, Punjab usher in New Year amid tight security

Chandigarh, Jan 1  New Year revellers ushered in the New Year with music and parties in Chandigarh and most places in Punjab on Thursday night amid tight security arrangements.

In Chandigarh, people could be seen attending parties at leading hotels, night-clubs, restaurants and even private homes to ring in the New Year, people burst fire crackers to welcome the New Year.

At several places, special tents were pitched with live performances by celebrity singers and others.

Hundreds of people flocked the Elante Mall here, one of the biggest malls in the region, to celebrate the New Year.

The Chandigarh Police and central para-military forces were stationed in and around most places where New Year parties were in progress.

The Chandigarh traffic police put up special 'nakas' to prevent people from indulging in drunken driving and over-speeding.

In Punjab, reports of New Year celebrations were received from Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda and Hoshiarpur.

Devotees started arriving around midnight at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar to offer early morning prayers on the first day of the New Year at the holiest of Sikh shrines, Harmandar Sahib (Popularly known as Golden Temple).

Border Security Force (BSF) troopers celebrated the New Year, while keeping strict vigil, along the 553-km long barbed wire fenced international border between India and Pakistan in Punjab.