Thousands of tourists arrived in the lake city Nainital on New Year’s eve to celebrate the advent of the new year. While some tourists were already in Nainital, many more started arriving here since Sunday morning for celebrating the occasion. By evening, the lake city was teeming with visitors with all the major parking spaces being fully occupied by vehicles of visitors. The hotels in the town were also reported to be fully packed by the evening. In order to avoid inconvenience to the tourists and the local residents, the police, considering the large number of tourists arriving in town, the police closed the upper Mall Road at 4 PM.
The police had made special arrangements for the New Year’s Eve celebration in Nainital. Pickets had been set up at various places popular with the tourists. An increased number of police personnel had been posted along the roads and in other public places to keep an eye on the situation. Apart from this, the police were also checking drivers of vehicles entering and leaving Nainital with alcometres to prevent drunk driving. Plain clothes policemen and personnel of the local intelligence unit were also active in various areas to ensure that the occasion passes off without any untoward incident. Apart from the visiting tourists, the local residents and hoteliers too celebrated the occasion with enthusiasm on Sunday. The hotel association did not set up decorative illumination and loudspeakers on the Mall Road which drastically cut down the noise pollution.