BENGALURU: Bengalureans welcomed the New Year in drunken revellery. City Express travelled through the city on New Year’s Eve and witnessed the celebrations, and chatted with the helpless cops on crowded roads.
On MG Road, we found army personnel jostled by the very crowds they were sent in to control. At MG Road Metro Station, people were begging them to pose for selfies. Initially the uniformed men were good-naturedly posing for some. Then, when the crowds increased, they started to turn people down.
A few partygoers decided to clamber on to the temporary watch towers, the police had erected on MG Road, to take photos. Their friends below were shaking the towers at the base.
The policemen were visibly struggling with the unruly bunch. Once the midnight fever subsided, with the dawn of January 1, the roads were choking with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Rash driving was common.
A traffic cop on MG Road, near Mayo Hall, said, “It is a tiresome job to ensure the smooth flow of traffic because, unlike other days, most drivers do not follow lane discipline. Despite our warnings, they drive as they wish.” Many of the traffic cops said that they didn’t feel safe to stand on the roads.
“Rash and negligent driving is common because drivers willfully ignore instructions,” said a cop posted near Cauvery Emporium. “My colleague and I have our limitations in controlling them because we have to book cases and mind the crowd of people.”
On Magrath Road, two-wheeler drivers were the nightmare with their rash driving, driving without helmets, driving in the wrong direction on a one-way and riding three or four to a bike.
A policeman posted near Garuda Mall said that people speed away even when the cops try to stop them. “We called in more cops to ensure their safety,” he said.
On Brigade Road, with many pubs in its vicinity, trouble makers hurled “Happy New Year” wishes at traffic cops who were trying to talk them into behaving more responsibly. A traffic cop at the signal said, “Whenever we shout at them, they howl back a Happy New Year.” The road witnessed many petty arguments and boozy hangovers. “Many are drunk,” said an ASI on Brigade Road, “so petty arguments between groups are a common sight and we have been struggling to disperse them.”
Another cop on the road said that youngsters were found sprawled on the footpaths. “We are sending them back home,” he said. Koramangala was a saner neighbourhood, with thinner crowds. Here too people were jumping signals, especially at the one near Forum but the revellers kept their celebrations to the pubs. In Indiranagar too, celebrations were limited to pubs and restaurants.