For the last two days, all the hotels, motels and tourist lodges have been jam-packed with visitors from home and abroad, with some innkeepers making hefty sums by charging three to four times the regular fares.

The posh hotels have arranged musical concerts and other shows to celebrate New Year's Eve today with their guests, starting right after seeing the last sun of 2005 off.

The local administration, Parjatan office and the beach management committee think if nothing extremely untoward happens, the world's largest sea beach will brim with life and colours today and tomorrow, with festivities continuing uninterrupted over the night.

Administration sources said they have made adequate security and safety preparations, with the police and Rapid Action Battalion deployed in all sensitive areas including the beach and tourists zones, to ensure the New Year is truly happy.