Goa beaches turn into celebration venues as people welcome New Year

 Lakhs of tourists and local residents flocked Goa's beaches after midnight on Wednesday to ring in the New Year. There was heavy traffic at night on several roads leading to the beaches even as the state police had regulated vehicular movement on busy routes anticipating huge crowd at the seashore.

Most of the prominent beaches in the state started getting crowded from Tuesday evening as people turned up in large numbers to witness the last sunset of 2024.

At the stroke of midnight, people greeted each other to welcome the New Year amid fireworks and musical programmes organised at many beach shacks. State Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant greeted people on the New Year.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte told PTI that the celebrations went on peacefully with tourists re-imposing faith in the coastal state as their favourite destination for New Year celebrations. Most of the hotels, including the high-end ones, registered full occupancy, he said.

Some of the popular beaches -- including Calangute, Baga, Vagator, Candolim, Sinquerim, Anjuna, Morjim and Ashram in North Goa and Colva, Benaulim, Majorda, Utorda, Palolem, Rajbag in South Goa -- drew hordes of tourists as the celebration continued till the wee hours of Wednesday.

Members of the Christian community, which accounts for about 30 per cent of Goa's population, attended midnight masses held in churches across the state to mark the New Year.

After the prayers, many of them organised get-togethers in their respective localities and engaged in various entertainment activities.

Heavy security was deployed at key locations in the state to prevent any law and order issue, a senior police official said. Except for a few minor accidents reported in some parts of Goa, the New Year celebrations were peaceful, he said. Governor Pillai extended greetings to the people and said, "New Year is a joyous event when we refresh our thoughts and prepare for new achievements."

"The advent of the New Year brings new hopes aspirations and expectations and rejuvenates our lives," the governor said in a release.

The year just gone-by has many notable achievements, such as the Mopa link road and the new Mopa airport (Manohar International Airport), which are expected to boost the state's economy, he said.

"It is also indeed a pleasure that Goa continues to have laudable progress in all fields," Pillai said. He said Goa's Raj Bhavan has a big public 'Vaman Vriksha Udyan' (bonsai garden) with boasts of 1,008 plants.

The Raj Bhavan last year launched the 'Prachin Vriksha Ayurvedic Chikitsa', also known as 'Vriksha Poshana Yoga', to protect and preserve the centenarian trees there, as per principles of Vriksha Ayurveda, a rare treatise on the science of plant life, the governor said.

"We are welcoming New Year 2025 in the 'Amrit Kaal' with new resolutions and are moving towards becoming an inclusive and developed nation by 2047. On this happy occasion, let us all work together in a spirit of harmony and friendship to usher in progress and development so as to create a brighter and better tomorrow," he said.

CM Sawant in his message said it is time to look back and appreciate the memories of life.

"For all the hard feelings that we might have come across, let us open our hearts and let it go," he said in a release. "The New Year gives us hope to look forward to a bright future and explore new opportunities. It is an inspiration to achieve new goals," Sawant said.

He said the state government has been working hard to implement various schemes for the effective welfare of the people. "Keeping our determination higher, let us march towards 'Swayampurna Goa' in the upcoming year with more strength," the CM said. "May the New Year bless everyone with unwavering faith that will illuminate our path throughout the year," he added.