Ahmedabad witnessed massive New Year celebrations on Wednesday night as large crowds thronged the city to usher in 2026 and bid farewell to 2025. Popular areas such as C G Road and Sindhu Bhavan Road saw heavy footfall after 10 pm, prompting heightened police vigilance.
Anticipating large gatherings, the police deployed special teams to ensure public safety and curb drunken driving and substance abuse. Senior IPS officers conducted night patrols till midnight, while more than 12,000 police personnel and home guards were pressed into service for traffic regulation and vehicle checks.
Special teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) were stationed along C G Road and Sindhu Bhavan Road to detect drug use, and breath analysers were widely used at key locations across the city.
As a result of the crackdown, city and rural police together booked over 200 people for driving under the influence of alcohol. Rural police also intensified patrolling and checks in areas including Bopal, Shela, Sanand, Changodar, Hathijan, Bagodara and farmhouse zones around Nalsarovar.