TN ushers in 2026 with night of revelry, early morning temple visits; cops say no loss of lives

Chennai, Jan 1 (PTI) Tamil Nadu welcomed 2026 with vibrant celebrations at beaches and public spaces and prayers at temples amid tight security by police who deployed over 1.10 lakh personnel statewide to ensure safety.

The Chennai Police said the New Year celebrations went smoothly without accidents and crimes, loss of lives, or any untoward incident.

The year started with rainfall, possibly the heaviest in a long while on the first day of the year, weather enthusiasts said. Governor RN Ravi and Chief Minister M K Stalin extended New Year greetings to the people.

The CM expressed confidence that the state would march towards great victories in 2026 with the courage from past struggles. The Greater Chennai Police mobilised 19,000 personnel and 1,500 home guards, conducting checks at 425 locations and deploying 30 special teams to curb bike racing in hotspots like Guindy, Adyar and Thoraipakkam. Celebrations were permitted only till 1 am, with bans on sea bathing at beaches including Marina and Elliot's, firecrackers in public areas, and high-decibel music systems without permission.

According to officials, drone surveillance covered the East Coast Road from Panaiyur to Kovalam, while horse-mounted patrols and help desks were stationed at beaches to take strict action against drunk driving and stunts. Thousands gathered at Marina Beach, Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar and other venues for midnight countdowns, prayers and family events blending faith with festivities. Popular spots hosted DJ nights, live bands and fireworks displays at resorts along ECR, with events like beach parties in select locations drawing crowds.

According to a press release issued by Chennai police on January 1, police officials and constables from Chennai Metropolitan Police, Law and Order, Crime Branch, Traffic, Armed Reserve, and Special Units performed intensive surveillance on December 31.

“As a result of which the 2026 New Year celebrations in Chennai Metropolitan City were celebrated peacefully, joyfully, without loss of lives, accidents avoided, and without crimes and untoward incidents occurring,” stated the release.

Commissioner of Police A Arun thanked the police officials, constables and town protection force personnel for maintaining law and order on New Year’s Eve, it added.

As is tradition, despite rain, fans made their way to their beloved stars, prompting police to post personnel in front of their houses to control the crowd. Crowd started surging in front of superstar Rajnikanth's house early morning itself. Among his fans was also an eight-year-old girl who celebrated her birthday on Thursday by cutting cake in front of his house and distributing it to those gathered there.

After wishing his fans, the superstar went to the Raghavendra temple at Triplicane to do his customary New Year pooja later in the day.

Thousands of people also gathered at places of worship. Long queues for 'darshan' were spotted at almost all temples of Tamil Nadu, particularly the famous ones like the Kapaleeswarar temple and Vadapalani Murugan temple in Chennai, Murugan temple in Tiruchendur, Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Arunachaleswara Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameshwaram, Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur and Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram. Crowds surged along the shores of Tamil Nadu to witness the first sunrise of the year. Unfortunately, at Kanyakumari, famous for its sunsets and sunrises, skies stayed cloudy disappointing countless people who made it there specially to witness the first sunrise. People were already disappointed that they were not able to witness the last sunset on New Year's Eve, due to the cloudy weather. Abhinaya, who had come all the way from Tenkasi with her family, said she was at the sunrise point by 3 am itself. "You can imagine how disappointed we are that we could not see the spectacular sunrise of Kanyakumari. But we still hold on to the hope that all will be fine in 2026," said the teenager. PTI JR JR ROH