Bengaluru,  28 Dec 

Around 20,000 police personnel will be deployed across Bengaluru to ensure peaceful New Year celebrations, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Sunday, with authorities expecting more than 10 lakh people to gather across the city.

Speaking after a review meeting with senior police officials, Parameshwara said crowd-prone areas such as Koramangala, Indiranagar, the Central Business District (CBD) and Niladri Road have been identified for special monitoring.

Of the total deployment, about 14,000 personnel will handle law and order duties, while 2,500 will be assigned to traffic management. The arrangements also include 88 Karnataka State Reserve Police platoons, 21 City Armed Reserve platoons and 250 Cobra bike personnel.

The minister said special emphasis has been placed on women’s safety and crowd control, with advisories issued to bars, restaurants, pubs and malls. Establishments have been instructed to strictly follow the 1 am deadline for serving liquor.

Citing security concerns, including the recent Delhi blast, Parameshwara said additional preventive measures are in place and anti-social activities are being closely monitored. Watch towers, focus lights, access-control points and vehicle checkpoints are being set up in sensitive locations.

Drone cameras and additional CCTV surveillance will be used, along with safety shelters, ambulances and fire tenders at major congregation points. Police vehicles and public transport have also been kept ready to assist stranded revellers late at night.

For the first time, a real-time “heatmap” system will be used to identify high-density crowd zones and relay information to the command centre to aid crowd management.

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