Clubs jam-packed, Chandigarh ushers in New Year with music, dance

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, December 31

Amid cold weather conditions and high security, city residents celebrated New Year’s Eve. Roads leading to clubs and restaurants witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic till 11 pm.

The areas that witnessed much hustle and bustle were Sectors 17, 26, 10, 35, Industrial Area, Chandigarh Golf Club and Chandigarh Club. Besides, main areas of Mohali, Sectors 9 and 10 in Panchkula and Ambala highway in Zirakpur remained jam-packed with people coming out in large numbers to celebrate the last night of 2023.

The UT police remained on toes to maintain law and order with youngsters from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana flocking to the city to ring in the New Year.

“We came from Amritsar to welcome the New Year in Chandigarh. We had heard a lot about the happening parties here and were happy to attend one in a Sector 26 club,” said Shipra Bansal.

Her friend Aditya said, “It’s good to be here. We went to Sector 17 and also to a famous mall. The city is abuzz with a lot of activity. It seems that the entire city is in celebration mode.”

Meanwhile, on New Year’s Eve, many stretches were declared “restricted vehicle zone” between 10 pm and 2 am. These included inner market roads of Sectors 7, 8, 9 and 10, and internal roads of Sectors 17 and 22.

The police had put up nakas at important points and inside parking lots to keep tabs on the consumption of liquor in the open. “We had found some people consuming liquor in the open, but they were let off after warning. The situation was normal and people enjoyed without any hassle,” said a police official at Sector 8 market.

The UT Police restricted the parking of vehicles inside the parking lots after 8 pm, which forced party lovers to look for spaces far away in Sectors 26 and 43.

As a safety measure, the police also checked the ID cards of those coming to attend parties.