Bengaluru: With strict restrictions in place for New Year celebrations, including a 1 am deadline for bars and restaurants and enhanced security measures, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said around 20,000 police personnel and officials will be deployed across Bengaluru as the city prepares for gatherings of more than 10 lakh people.

Calling on the public, especially the youth, to celebrate responsibly, the minister said adequate precautions have been taken to ensure that celebrations remain peaceful and orderly.

“A crowd of approximately 7–8 lakh people had gathered in different places for New Year celebrations last year, this year more than ten lakh people are expected,” Parameshwara said.

Speaking to reporters after a review meeting with senior police officials, he said crowd-prone areas such as Koramangala, Indira Nagar, the Central Business District (CBD) and Niladri Road have been identified for focused policing during the celebrations.

Detailing the security arrangements, Parameshwara said, “Approximately 20,000 police personnel and officials have been deployed to man the city to ensure that the celebrations are peaceful and happy. The deployment includes 14,000 personnel for law and order maintenance, 2,500 personnel for traffic management, 88 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons, 21 City Armed Reserve (CAR) platoons, 250 cobra bike personnels among others.”

He said special emphasis has been placed on women’s safety and crowd control, and advisories have been issued to stakeholders such as bars, restaurants, pubs and malls.

“Security is also a major focus area, keeping in mind the recent Delhi blast, and necessary preventive measures are being taken, and a watch has been kept on the activities of anti-social elements,” he said.

As part of the New Year restrictions, bars and restaurants have been directed to strictly adhere to the prescribed time limits for serving liquor, with the 1 am deadline to be enforced without exception.

Highlighting new measures introduced this year, the minister said QR codes containing key information have been distributed to pubs, restaurants, malls and other public places.

Watch towers and focus lights are being installed at identified locations, while access control facilities and vehicle checkpoints are being set up across the city. Drone cameras will be used for surveillance in addition to existing CCTV coverage, and safety shelters are being established at major gathering points. Ambulances and fire tenders have also been stationed at crowd-heavy areas.

“We have also deployed some 2,500 police to manage the traffic,” Parameshwara said, adding that buses, cars and police vehicles have been kept ready to help stranded people return home during late night hours.

For the first time, a “heatmap” system has been introduced in Bengaluru to identify high-density crowd zones in real time and relay information to the control room to assist in crowd management, he added.

Meanwhile, officials said that as part of enforcement drives ahead of New Year, 2,854 cases of drunk driving have been registered in the city over the past five days.