Live Correspondent: The nation bade adieu to the outgoing year 2022 forgetting all odds and sorrows of the past and welcomed 2023 with new hopes at midnight last night amid different programmes along with the global community.

Jubilant people, particularly youngsters, joined different New Year programmes when the clock strikes 12am.

In separate messages, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the countrymen on the eve of New Year 2023.

On this special occasion, people have already conveyed their best wishes to their friends and beloved ones through different messaging applications and social media platforms.

Usually, New Year's Eve comes as an occasion for huge celebrations across the globe, bidding farewell to the outgoing year 2022.

As 2022 draws to a close, New Zealand will be among the first few countries to usher in the New Year. Celebrations then move across the world — to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally the Americas.

The day is also a moment of looking back to the outgoing year to review the successes and failures and planning strategies to reach new goals for the New Year while accomplishing the unfinished tasks those need to be done in the coming days.

The year 2022 was a significant year for Bangladesh as the country saw many successes in major areas, including infrastructure development, economy, agriculture, and driving the IT sectors towards attaining middle-income status.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the much-expected Padma Bridge on June 25 connecting the capital with the 21 south and south-western districts.

On December 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the country's first-ever elevated metro rail, setting another milestone in the country's communication history. She opened the 11.73km part of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 of the metro rail project from Diabari to Agargaon by unveiling its plaque in the city's Diabate.

Marking the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has drawn up multi-tiered security measures. It has already banned the holding of any programme at open places for the sake of overall security and law and order.

All bars in the city remained closed from 6 pm Saturday to Sunday evening. None was able to carry licensed arms at residential hotels, restaurants and public gatherings. Outsiders and vehicles were not allowed to enter Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas after 8 pm Saturday.

Police personnel in uniform or plainclothes were deployed and members of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit and bomb disposal team discharged duties at different city points to ensure safety.

None was allowed to hold cultural functions at road crossings and flyovers. Fireworks and flying of sky lanterns were not allowed.

No outsiders were allowed to enter the Dhaka University campus without identity cards. The DU teachers, officials and employees who live inside the campus were able to enter the university area with vehicles (with stickers) through Shahbagh and Nilkhet crossings.

No vehicles were allowed in the Hatirjheel area. Blowing horns with high volume and reckless driving are restricted.

Dhaka, 31 December (campuslive24.com)// BIT