2,879 booked for drink driving in Mumbai Metropolitan Region on New Year’s Eve
Mumbai reported a dip in offences, from 615 during last NY Eve to 455 this time, while Thane saw a rise in cases at 2,071, compared to 1,250 in 2017
mumbai Updated: Jan 02, 2019 00:35 ISTWhile the city ushered in the New Year, the traffic police were busy across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, catching 2,879 people for drink driving from 10pm on December 31 to 5am on January 1.
According to the Mumbai traffic police, 455 cases were in Mumbai, down from 615 last time. “We have been cracking down on drink driving since Christmas, which has helped bring the number down,” said an officer.
“We have sent a list of all offenders to the Regional Transport Department to begin the process of suspending their licences for six months,” said Deepali Masirkar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic). Apart from drink and drive, the Mumbai traffic police issued 10,235 challans for offences like speeding, rash driving and other traffic violations.
According to the police, of the 455 cases, 76 were registered in South Mumbai. Officers said the number of cases in the western and northern suburbs was more because of the large number of pubs and bars there.
In the last week of December, the joint commissioner of traffic police, Amitesh Kumar, had issued a notification to all personnel to ensure no drink driving or speeding accidents across the city. More than 3,000 cops equipped with 100 breath analysers kept a watch on the city’s roads.
“Each traffic police chowkie had been asked to identify at least three vulnerable spots and put up nakabandis there and important junctions,” said Kumar.
Kumar said the high-end cameras used for number plate recognition helped in the crackdown and bring down the number of cases.
However, Thane saw a rise in drink and drive cases at 2,071, compared to 1,250 in 2017, while Navi Mumbai saw 353 cases in 2018.
“Different squads were posted at various places that would alternate every one hour, making it difficult for riders to avoid us. This is why there is not only an increase in the number of drunk drivers, but also for the fewer number of rash driving cases,” said Anil Mangle, police inspector, traffic, Thane. The Thane police said offenders were fined ₹2,000 each.
In Navi Mumbai, 1,000 personnel were posted on the roads.
First Published: Jan 02, 2019 00:35 IST