People celebrate New Years Eve indoors
Law enforcers beef up security across country
Staff Reporter
People yesterday bid farewell to 2016 and welcomed New Year 2017 through various programmes across the country.
With the authorities imposing a ban on outdoor functions, most people celebrated New Years Eve indoors.
Luxury hotels, clubs and different organisations held a host of cultural events and offered special products and services, marking the New Year mainly in posh areas. Law enforcers cranked up security across the countryto prevent any untoward incident. Despites restrictions on outdoor gatherings, hundreds of Dhaka University students congregated at the TSC area to bid farewell to the outgoing year and welcome the New Year. Police, who set up barriers and checkpoints, did not allow outsiders on the campus.
According to eyewitnesses, additional forces were deployed in diplomatic areas as a special measure.
A DMP official said that around 10,000 police personnel were deployed to prevent any disturbance, especially in the citys posh areas.
As part of the heightened security for New Years Eve, visitors were not allowed to stroll on Patenga and Parki beaches in Chittagong after 6pm yesterday. The Chittagong Metropolitan Police closed events at popular hangout spots of the port city such as Foys Lake, DC Hill, Agrabad and Kazir Deurhi Childrens Park after 6pm on that day.
Meanwhile, all US citizens living in Bangladesh needed to be on alert because of a possible terrorist threat on New Years Eve, the US state department said in a message on Friday. Also, Gaibandha-1 Awami League MP Manzurul Islam Liton was shot dead by three unidentified miscreants yesterday.
Following this, the authorities intensified the security measures in and around the capital yesterday.
