Did tighter rules undermine the spontaneous street parade after midnight?

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Yes, the tighter rules appear to have dampened the spontaneous midnight street parade in Little India.

The midnight celebration was still held, but it was noticeably less lively than in past years. The writer says there were significantly fewer foreign workers on the streets, many food joints were closed by midnight, alcohol sales at restaurants and bars stopped after 10.30pm, and police presence was much heavier across Serangoon Road.
The usual parade was part of the festival atmosphere

In earlier years, the writer describes a spontaneous street parade after midnight, with cars, bikes and trucks taking turns to drive down Serangoon Road. Those vehicles would honk, cheer and blast music while pedestrians greeted them, creating the noisy and crowded mood the writer calls authentic.
The new restrictions changed the night’s pace

This year, the writer says restaurants and bars could not sell alcohol after 10.30pm, and many food outlets were shut by midnight. That meant one of the usual gathering points for the Deepavali eve crowd was gone much earlier than before.
Police deployment was highly visible

The writer says the announcement of “more police to be deployed in Little India over Deepavali weekend for crowd and traffic control” already signalled a different atmosphere. On the night itself, uniformed personnel were on almost every corner, traffic was repeatedly halted, and many vehicles were pulled over for routine checks.
The result was less spontaneity on the streets

The writer concludes that the city “snuffed out the spark” that made the Deepavali eve celebration special. The overall picture is of a night that still took place, but with less of the informal, impromptu energy that had previously defined the midnight scene.

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Did tighter rules undermine the spontaneous street parade after midnight?

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