It was a wet start to the Valentine's Day in Chandigarh and its surrounding areas Friday with intermittent rain over the region.
Chandigarh Police had made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order on Valentine's Day, but the rain became a spoiler for the youthful enthusiasts.
Chandigarh's popular 'Geri route' in Sectors 8 to 11 did not have the excitement as generally seen on V-Day.
"The rain and a scheduled holiday (Guru Ravi Dass birth anniversary) have resulted in most youth staying back home Friday. Valentine's Day this time seems a lot subdued," Sector 10 trader Naveen told IANS.
Chandigarh Police stationed their personnel on the Geri route and other places like the Panjab University campus, near colleges and other educational institutions and Sukhna Lake since Thursday.
"Approximately 1,000 police personnel, including seven DSPs and 29 inspectors and others, were deployed to keep watch on youngsters indulging in dangerous driving and eve-teasing. The special duties were deployed in front of schools, colleges, Panjab University, market areas, hotels and discos, Sector 17 Plaza, bus stands and parks," a police spokesman said Friday.
Met Officials said that rainfall, which started late Thursday evening, had been predicted over the region.
"The V-Day enthusiasm has been affected somewhat by the rain. The die-hard ones are, however, still going to party hard," Jahnvi Singh, a college student, said.
