Whistling banned, 1 am deadline as Bengaluru readies for 2025

Authorities have imposed major traffic curbs and banned whistling during New Year revelries in Bengaluru when tens of thousands are expected to throng the city centre to welcome 2025.

The police have also made it clear that all celebrations must halt by 1 am of January 1. Offenders of any kind, particularly those who molest or misbehave with women, will be dealt with a heavy hand.

MG Road and more

Every December 31, an estimated one lakh people throng MG Road, the main commercial hub in India’s IT capital. The street, with numerous eateries, is already bedecked.

Special lighting arrangements have also been made on Brigade Road, Church Street, Indiranagar, HSR Layout and Koramangala which will also see huge crowds.

Also read: Pune pub sends condoms with New Year party invite; Congress approaches police

No whistling, please

The administration has also made face masks mandatory on the streets and banned whistling on the streets.

11,000 cops to be deployed

Some 11,000 police personnel will be deployed in the city through the night of Tuesday. MG Road itself will see some 2,000 of them. There will be 1,000 police personnel at Koramangala.

CCTV cameras

A mini control room will monitor the nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras. About 150 cameras have been put up at sensitive places.

Flyovers to be shut

All flyovers will be closed. Metro and bus services from MG Road will run till 2 am.

Major traffic curbs

No vehicles will be allowed on MG Road, Brigade Road and Church Street from 8 pm on December 31 to 2 am on January 1. There will be similar curbs on some other roads.

Also read: New Year 2025 | Here are major rule changes kicking in on January 1

Metro warns offenders

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corp has said those harassing women will be fined Rs 500 and handed over to the police.

For women’s protection

For women’s safety, the Rani Chennamma Special Squad will maintain vigilance. Additionally, 12 safety islands have been established for women.

Watchtowers, healthcare

Watchtowers have been set up in some places. Healthcare facilities will be available to the public.

“I visited various parts of the city and inspected the police security arrangements in anticipation of the New Year celebrations,” the Bengaluru Commissioner of Police said in a post on X.

Police warning

Police officers have said they do not want to see any trouble at any of the spots where celebrations take places. Drug related offences will not be tolerated.

Shivakumar cautions

“Law and order will be maintained. We should be very cautious. The image of Bengaluru is very much important,” Karnataka’s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said. He warned that those creating nuisance will get picked up by the police.

New Year celebrations in Bengaluru led to horror in 2017 when several women were allegedly molested and heckled on MG Road.