Cops to rein in New Year?revelry

Visakhapatnam: It’s that time of year again when the beautiful coastal city of Visakhapatnam is bustling with tourists and pilgrims from various parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal. They gather here to welcome the New Year on December 31.

But the city police have warned that revellers must stay within limits and have imposed several restrictions on New Year revellers to maintain public order.

Estimating around three to four lakh people will gather at Beach Road on the night of December 31, the 2.5 km of road between Coastal Battery and Park Hotel will be closed to traffic from 8 pm on December 31 to 4 am on January 1. The Telugu Talli flyover in the heart of the city will be closed to traffic and pedestrians on December 31.

The police held a meeting with the managements of bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels on Monday morning to give them directions about regulating New Year celebrations and clearly stated that all events with DJs and dance parties need prior police permission and must close at 1 am.

Commissioner of police, B. Shivadhar Reddy, warned that nude and obscene dances are prohibited and should not be part of New Year celebrations in hotels, resorts and pubs in the city.

The police boss also stated that liquor cannot be served without permission from the competent authority.

Spectators on Beach Road and other places in the city must not misbehave.

Eve-teasing and other such acts will be sternly dealt with. Traffic police will deal firmly with drunken driving.