Bikers ‘rule’ streets as Chennai rings in 2019

CHENNAI: Bikers zipped madly through the city roads, massive crowds gathered at the Marina and Elliot’s Beach and temples and churches were open and full at midnight as Chennai stayed up to welcome 2019. Several venues had all-night carnatic music concerts too.
The police, who were present in large numbers, stood watching silently as the mob took over the streets at many places, removing barricades and riding recklessly.

Even on Anna Salai, which was closed at several stretches to manage the crowds, youngsters could be seen waving beer bottles as they raced past, weaving through the pedestrians.

The Marina was jampacked and a cheer went up as the clock struck 12. A police officer distributed a tray of toffees, but there was not much else happening other than people milling around shouting “Happy New Year”.

The devout thronged places of worship, many of which had opened for special darshan. At some temples long queues had formed with people waiting patiently for the doors to open at dawn.

There were traffic snarls across the city till well past midnight. The indiscipline on the roads was reflected in the number of people of who were killed or injured. Eight people were killed in 18 major road accidents across the city from noon on Monday to 6am on Tuesday. About 105 people were also injured.

“The phones have been continuously ringing. We want to ensure we respond to all emergencies. We didn’t want families to start the year with a loss,” said health minister C Vijaya Baskar, who visited the ambulance control room late in the night. Besides road accidents, calls came in of heart attacks, labour pain and strokes.

The injured were taken to the Government Rajiv Gandhi Hospital or the Government Royapettah Hospital.