Vijayawada: Denizens throng sweet shops, bakeries on New Year Eve

Vijayawada: Denizens thronged the sweet shops, bakeries, restaurants and wine shops to buy the cakes, sweets and beverages to celebrate New Year on the 31 December night in Vijayawada on Thursday. The year 2020 has left behind very sad memories due to the Covid pandemic. Traders, employees, workers both in the organised and unorganised sectors, petty vendors and all sections of the society suffered loss.

Now, the denizens want to start the New Year by celebrating the event with near and dear at homes without attending the hotels and public places.

Commissioner of police B Srinivasulu has already issued orders prohibiting New Year parties in the hotels, restaurants and other public places. He suggested people to celebrate New Year at homes in the wake of the Covid second wave and with the surfacing of the new strain.

Denizens thronged the sweet shops, bakeries, confectionary shops and shopping malls to purchase cakes to celebrate the New Year. Liquor lovers were seen standing in serpentine queues at wine shops run by the government. The children and the youth enthusiastically waited for the New Year celebrations on Thursday night. Rangoli is the special attraction for New Year as many girls and women decorate their homes and entrances with the message welcoming the new year 2021.

The city police also imposed restrictions for the bars and restaurants. Traders were asked the close the shops by 10 pm and gathering on the MG Road was prohibited.

N Ravi Kumar, a sweet shop owner in Satyanarayanapuram, said that there was huge demand for the sweets and cakes despite the impact of the Covid-19. He said that people were gradually erasing the sad memories of the year and preparing to welcome 2021 with many aspirations and hopes. So far, the impact of Covid second wave is not visible in Vijayawada and other parts of the State as Covid cases drastically declined in the last two months. Some districts are registering cases in single digit for the past few days building confidence among people to overcome the fear of coronavirus pandemic.