Visakhapatnam: Large crowds witnessed at temples on New Year Day

Visakhapatnam: Temples across the city witnessed crowds as people welcomed the New Year on a positive note.

For many, paying a visit to the temple on the occasion of New Year is a sentimental practice followed for years.

As a part of it, serpentine queues were seen at Sampath Vinayagar temple, Asilmetta right from Thursday night.

Devotees thronged Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam at Simhachalam, Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi (SKML) temple at Burujupeta, Surya Narayana Swamy temple near Isuka Konda and Vaibhav Venkateswara Swamy Temple at NGGO's Colony, among other temples on the occasion.

Marking the ongoing 'Margasira Masotsavalu', a large number of devotees offered prayers to Goddess Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi on Friday. Temple officials have set up special counters for those who could not book a slot online. "Visiting Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala on January 1 is part of our New Year's celebrations for the past 30 years. Fortunately, we could make it this year as well," says M Giri, a resident of Malkapuram.

However, owing to the restrictions imposed by the Police Department on New Year's Eve, a plenty of roads continued to paint a desolate picture even on Friday. Except the temples and few tourist spots, social gatherings appeared to be minimal this time, compared to last year.

Beach Road which used to register not less than 50,000 visitors on New Year's Eve wore a deserted look. Most people celebrated New Year at home with family and limited group of friends by cutting cake, bursting crackers and sharing love.