LAHORE: The Lahorites started taking to the road with the nightfall to welcome the new year and to say goodbye to 2017.

The fun and frolic for the people, especially the youngsters, had started a couple of hours after the sunset. Fireworks were witnessed in different parts of the city and the youngsters kept celebrating the New Year’s Eve while cheering and dancing. Riding motorcycles and cars, the youngsters continued roaming around the city through different roads. Some of them gathered in middle of the roads, especially around Liberty Market, set loud music on in their vehicles and danced to the tunes in form of groups, disturbing the traffic flow. The citizens also released sky lanterns into the air at Liberty Market.

A large number of the citizens, including families, went to Bahria Town to see the fireworks at its ‘Eiffel Tower’ and enjoy the music party there. Some of the hotels also organised parties and fireworks to welcome the new year.

As the citizens came out on the roads and stared celebrating the new year, an immense traffic jam was also witnessed. The law enforcement agencies, including police, always find themselves unable to control the great number of people in the celebratory mood.

Many of the youngsters could be seen doing dangerous wheelies and acrobats on their motorcycles.

Despite a difficult situation and the great number of people on the roads, the police in provincial metropolis had also made special arrangements to tackle the situation, especially in view of the terror threat. There were reports that New Year’s Eve celebrations were facing threats from the banned militant outfit, Islamic State (Daesh), across the world. To ensure security, the police increased checking at entry and exit points of the city. They also conducted search operations in various localities and arrested dozens of suspects who had failed to prove their identity. Besides, pickets were erected on almost all the major roads of the city to check any suspicious person or activity.

DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf said at least 110 vehicles of Police Response Unit, 272 teams of Dolphin Squad and 194 vehicles of Operations Wing kept patrolling the city on New Year’s Eve. Security was enhanced at vulnerable establishments, mosques, churches, parks and markets.

Capital City Police Officer Amin Wains said they had deployed at least 15,000 police officials to maintain law and order.

A night before New Year Eve, the police had launched crackdown on drug dealers and bikers. The police claimed to arrest dozens of drug dealers and recovered huge quantity of drugs from them.

The traffic police had also deployed extra wardens to deal with traffic jam in the city

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2018