Thousands of devotees thronged the 'Harmandir Sahib', also popularly known as the Golden Temple, here on Sunday to offer prayers on the first day of the New Year.

The rush of devotees started on Saturday evening with the shrine complex getting jampacked by midnight itself.

With the dawn of the first day of the New Year, thousands could be seen queued up to offer prayers at 'Harmandir Sahib' -- the sanctum sanctorum and the holiest of the Sikh shrines.
 

"The whole shrine complex was bustling with people. It was a unique atmosphere all around. This was one of the biggest rush that we had seen in recent years," Harvinder Singh, a local resident who offers prayers at the temple on New Year's day every year, said.

The outer area of the complex was renovated and beautified recently, and people visiting the Golden Temple enjoyed that too.

"The new parking was jammed with vehicles. We had to park our car at some distance and walk to get into the shrine. Here also, it was full of people," another visitor, Simrat Kaur, said.

The shrine complex was illuminated for the occasion.