New Year celebrated with religious fervour in southern districts

Crackers were burst and wishes were exchanged at the stroke of 12 am on Monday. Youth were seen riding bikes and exchanging wishes in important streets of Madurai. Cakes were cut on streets and special parties were arranged in hotels.

Prayer sessions were held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Madurai, Our Lady of Snows Shrine Basilica at Thoothukudi, St Xavier’s Church in Tirunelveli. Thousands of faithfuls participated in the midnight mass.

Similarly, people queued up in the Tiruchendur Murugan temple, which was opened at 1 am.

At Karpaga Vinayagar temple at Pillaiyarpatti and Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, devotees offered special prayers.

In Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district, devotees carried 1,008 milk pots to Mutharamman Temple.

At Kanniyakumari, thousands gathered on the beach to see the first sunrise of the year. However, in the coastal areas in Kanniyakumari, apart from the regular church prayer meetings people did not come out of their houses.

Joyous celebrations in Kovai

The night sky in Coimbatore was lit up with crackers and people thronged religious places.

Youth gathered on arterial roads to welcome the New Year.

Police were deployed in crowded spots and barricades were placed on the Avinashi Road and Trichy Road to curb speeding. The flyovers were blocked to prevent any untoward incidents.

More than 1, 000 police personnel, including home guards, were deployed on the crowded spots to regulate the revellers.

“I welcomed the New Year along with my friends by cutting a cake in the Race Course on Sunday night. We then exchanged greetings with passers by,” said M Saravanan, a college student from Peelamedu.

In view of the New Year, special pooja’s and prayers were performed at temples and prayers in churches in Kovai. People also thronged the hill station Ooty to welcome New Year with pomp and gaiety.