According to sources, a meeting between the representatives of hotels and bars and police officers presided by Bhubaneswar DCP on the arrangements for New Year celebration in the city was held on Tuesday.

Following discussion, a set of guidelines for celebration was drawn up at the meeting. As per the guidelines, the hotels and bars can remain open till 12.30 am on January 1, 2024. Those can also remain open till 1.30 am after obtaining special permission from the Commissionerate of Police.

The hotels and bars will have to make necessary arrangements for parking of vehicles and their smooth movement in their facilities during the celebration.

It will also be the responsibility of the facilities, organising New Year party, to prevent any law and order problem and ensure security of their customers.

The police, on their part, will keep a strict watch on drunk driving by checking the vehicle drivers with breath analysers at important junctions in the city throughout the night.

Ahead of the New Year 2023, the state government has increased DA by four percent. The hike in DA and TI for the government employees and pensioners was approved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The DA will be effective from July 1, 2022, the official notification read.  

Earlier in September, the Odisha government had announces a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for the state govt. employees.