The Chennai Metro Rail will operate till 1 am on January 1 to help the public travel back home after New Year’s Eve celebrations.
In a statement issued on Monday night, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) announced that its services will be operational till 1 am on January 1. “Train services on December 31, 2019, will be operated with 28 minutes of headway from 11 pm to 1 am on January 2, 2020, without peak hours,” read the announcement.
The Chennai city traffic police have also issued a statement of the elaborate arrangements made in the city. In a press release, the police said that after 9 pm on Tuesday, vehicle checks will be conducted at 368 important junctions in the city, including Triplicane, Pulianthope, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Adyar, Mylapore, Kilpauk, St Thomas Mount and T Nagar, among other places.
The driver’s licenses of those who get caught for driving under the influence of alcohol will be cancelled and their names will be added to the serious offenders’ list. This would make police clearance for passport and visa verification, the police said.
Help centres will be arranged with 25 patrol vehicles at crowded places for crowd control, stated the release.
In an attempt to prevent bike racing within the city, the police have also deployed special teams along the East Coast Road (ECR) at Neelangarai, Thuraipakkam, Thiruvanmiyur, Outer Ring Road etc. Security will also be increased at temples and churches across the city all through midnight, as people will gather to welcome the new year with prayers.
Around 15,000 police personnel will be deployed around the city to manage the crowd and ensure things are smooth. To ensure a safe gathering, All Terrain Vehicles have been deployed along the beaches in Marina, Santhome, Besant Nagar and Neelankarai, where a large number of people are expected to gather. Drones have also been deployed at crucial junctions in the city to monitor the crowd.
Source: The News Minute