Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 (IANS) At least five lakh devotees and tourists from various parts of the country thronged Orissa’s pilgrim city of Puri Thursday to usher in the New Year, officials said.
A majority of them have come to offer prayers at the 12th century Jagannath temple to begin their new year, while some arrived just to enjoy the year end and beginning of 2010 at the beach.

“Five lakh people have already arrived. Large numbers of people from different parts of the state are expected to reach by this (Thursday) evening and tomorrow (Friday),” a district police official told IANS.

Most of the hotels in this beach city, some 56 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, are already full and have recruited additional staff to meet the demand, a hotel owner said.

The district authorities have deployed hundreds of additional policemen and made elaborate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident