The party should be organised in a manner that does not lead to any offensive behaviour or vulgar displays. If any undesirable incident occurs, the organisers will be held responsible,” the police notification reads. The directive strictly forbids consumption of alcohol, intoxicants and hookah during New Year celebrations.
The notice states: “Individuals who have illegally consumed intoxicants or alcohol should not be allowed entry under any circumstances. Failure to inform police about such individuals will make the organisers and their team responsible, and legal action will be taken against them.”
In Ahmedabad, 8,139 police personnel will be on New Year Eve deployment. The bandobust includes two SRP companies, 3,100 Home Guards, 145 check posts, 9 quick response teams, 203 persons with breathalysers and 34 towing trucks to remove illegally parked vehicles. Ahmedabad police will also post 2,324 cops with bodycams and four bomb detection and disposal squad teams on stand-by.
In South Gujarat districts of Valsad, Navsari and Surat, police have intensified surveillance against drunk driving.
Valsad district, which shares borders with the Union Territory of Daman and Dad ra Nagar Haveli and Maharashtra, has intensified monitoring of drunk driving cases.
Authorities have set up surveillance at 40 checkpoints throughout the district while also maintaining vigilance on lesser-travelled routes connecting Gujarat to the Union territory. Valsad police had started aspecial drive in 2018 to reduce road accidents in South Gujarat during New Year.
This resulted in numerous arrests during year-end celebrations as hundreds returned inebriated from the UT. The number of arrests increased from 607 in 2018 to 1,422 in 2021. Subsequently in 2022, authorities detained 1,400 individuals, followed by 916 arrests in 2023.
In Surat city, special teams conducted inspections of about 100 farmhouses across Dumas and surrounding regions using drones. Night aerial surveillance has also been implemented besides enhancing vehicle checking over the past week.
Navsari district police have intensified crackdown on miscreants and arrested 425 persons in the last four days during surveillance. “Prior to Dec 31, we conducted meetings with 140 farmhouse and hotel proprietors, cautioning them about unlawful activities. We positioned 650 police personnel equipped with breath analysers and drugs detection kits across 31 checkposts,” said Sushil Agarwal, SP, Navsari district.
