Uttar Pradesh welcomed New Year's Eve with a blend of celebrations and devotion, underscored by heightened security across major cities and towns. Authorities implemented extensive measures, including traffic checks, layered security grids, and surveillance at transport hubs, to ensure peaceful festivities. Varanasi saw a special Ganga Aarti and a surge of pilgrims at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, while Lucknow experienced festive crowds despite cold weather, with police reinforcing security arrangements.