Two elephants lead a cultural procession taken out on the occasion of silver jubilee celebrations of the Hatigaon Rongali Bihu Utsav. Picture by UB Photos

April 17: Theirs is a high-tension, high-pressure job for most of the year. But Rongali Bihu has come as a much-needed respite for them, and city police are enjoying a ?festive break? and letting their hair down. Bihu celebrations have ushered in not only the Assamese new year, but relative calm as well in the harried capital city.

Officially, of course, the police are not letting their guard down. But that they are taking time off to relax is evident in the lower number of checkposts on city roads. Even the time periods when the remaining checkposts are manned have been trimmed, allowing the security personnel to relax.

?Why not?? asked a police official, requesting anonymity (naturally). ?For the entire year, we hardly have any time for ourselves. Bihu is the only time when we get to relax a little,? the official smiled.

The police are convinced that militants ? obviously of the United Liberation Front of Asom ? will not try to spoil the Bihu celebrations and incur the wrath of the people.

A police source pointed out that the explosions during the Independence Day celebrations last year at Dhemaji, which left several children dead, had taught the outfit a hard lesson.

City police have been facing a torrid time since the January 26 explosions at Judges Field right in the middle of the official Republic Day function. Since then, a vulnerable Guwahati has come under militant attack on several occasions.

Police personnel assigned to the bihutolis appeared to be the most relaxed lot as they soaked in the festive spirit while on duty ? cracking jokes among themselves and applauding the performances on stage.

Two havildars on duty at the Latasil field even broke into an impromptu Bihu jig when the dancers appeared on stage. ?If we are not busy with security arrangements at the time of militant attacks, we have to look after the VIPs and VVIPs. There is hardly any time to relax,? murmured one of them.

Now that most ministers and MLAs are visiting their constituencies for the Bihu holidays, the pressure on city police has eased considerably.

Bihu celebrations in the city reached their crescendo last night and tonight, with lakhs of people thronging the bihutolis to watch their favourite stars perform.

While the number of bihutolis in Greater Guwahati area crossed the 200 mark, the main concentration of spectators was in the bigger ones at Latasil, Chandmari, Ganeshguri, Rajgarh, Bharalumukh, Maligaon and Hatigaon. The Bihu functions, spanning four days, ended tonight.

Music maestro Bhupen Hazarika put in a rare appearance at the Bharalumukh bihutoli. Once a regular feature, he has drastically cut down his Bihu shows over the past few years owing to advancing age. Tonight, he belted out some of his hit numbers to a packed crowd.