Hyderabad: New Year fete restrictions put off party-goers

Hyderabad: With the cops announcing restrictions on new year revelry, the party goers are disappointed and all their plans impacting the festivities they found themselves dispirited. Meanwhile the businesses depending on the occasion also were hit badly.

As a new strain of virus Covid-19 that emerged in the United Kingdom (UK) and spreading to other countries, the police authorities have announced that all kinds of entertainment and events would be banned on the New years' eve. "We hoped to enjoy new year and planned for having a party. We booked a farmhouse, but with the latest restrictions being imposed, our plan for New Year was let down," said Gangapuram Prem, a student of Loyola College, who planned to celebrate New Year Eve.

It may be mentioned here that police are not allowing large gatherings forcing most of the events to be cancelled. Following self-restrictions imposed by the resident welfare associations (RWAs), even revelries within gated communities will not be there.

According to observers, the ban on events also hit businesses, as this time almost every pub, club and event managers used to earn lot of money. By this time almost many musicians and singers used to be busy with the handful of events whereas now they don't have any events in their hands. With the ban placed on these events, many event managers and pub owners urged to relax that they are already into losses this year due to the recent lock down. "Every year we used to get 10-15 lakhs on the New year party only on Entry tickets for the Events but whereas now due to the Ban on these events adds to distress," said a manager of a Popular Pub at Gachibowli.

Like never before, even the traffic police are busy taking up special drives on drunk driving. "I was shocked to see that police remained alert on days ahead of the new year and conducting drunk and drive checks at the 10 pm. Does it not help spread of Corona as the cops are using the same device for all the motorists?" wonders L Venkatesh, an IT employee.