Hyderabad: The surroundings of Hussaisagar in the middle of the city was the focal point on Saturday for New Year celebrations with approximately 2.5 lakh visitors, according to traffic police personnel, making it to Necklace road, NTR Marg, and Tank Bund.
The attractions along PV Narasimha Rao Marg (formerly Necklace Road), NTR Gardens and the adjacent Lumbini Park, drew a large number of people from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Although the whole area was crowded, nothing could stop families from enjoying the pleasant evening breeze while the children enjoyed themselves in parks, taking pictures and enjoying delicacies. One family came up with a makeshift camp for their kids at PV Narasimha Rao Marg.
“We plan for an entire day of outing every year on this day which was not possible in the previous two years. We are 15 members of the same family. As we all do not stay together we get together on this occasion to unwind,” said Srinivas T, a 32-year-old businessman.
The most popular attraction, meanwhile, was boating in the lake. Approximately, 10,000-12,000 people visited Lumbini Park throughout the day, for enjoying rides to Buddha statue and back.
“We expected a large turn-out. As a precautionary measure, we hired more swimmers and guards and arranged for more boats. The footfall has been on the rise since Christmas,” said Manohar B, MD, Telangana Tourism.
In hindsight, many did not wear masks at the park. Telangana Tourism boating unit in-charge Sampath Kumar said “when they come to buy tickets they wear masks but not otherwise. When we ask people to put them on, they argue and accuse us of unruly behaviour.”
Traffic cop Mohan said “managing the traffic is difficult. There are no-parking signs all around but due to the traffic flow, we are unable to enforce it strictly.”
Huge crowds were the norm of the day across the city, including temples, which had large queues waiting for darshan.
“I came here for a stroll alone. I didn’t expect this crowd. Earlier in the day also, there were huge lines to enter a temple so I could not go. It’s okay to come here with family but they should follow Covid safety rules,” said Ankit Priya, 26, working with a policy think tank.
