200 police teams to check drunk driving this Holi

If you thought you will manage to drink and drive this Holi, you are wrong.

If you thought you will manage to drink and drive this Holi, you are wrong.

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The Delhi Police, for the first time, will deploy more than 200 teams to ensure that even a single drunk driver on Delhi roads is not spared. Every year, 50 teams are deployed to check drunk driving on the festive day.

The traffic police personnel will spread across the Capital from morning till evening and will fine drunk drivers. The drive will start at 9.30 in the morning and will continue till evening on Thursday.

“Our target is to reduce deaths due to road accidents on the day, which is a common phenomenon every year due to drunk driving. While the daily average of deaths due to road accidents have come down to about five, on Holi, the average figure is still at about 15,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

He said that each team will have one lady constable so that even the women drunk drivers are not spared.

Over the last 12 years, over 10 road deaths were registered in Delhi on Holi every

year. However, in 2006, a whopping 22 road deaths were registered on the festival day. Last year, 13 people were killed on March 20, when the city celebrated Holi.

“This year, we will try to reduce the number of road deaths as much as possible,” said a police officer.

The Police, this year, have started keeping a tab on drunk drivers from last Thursday — a week before Holi — in a bid to create fear psychosis of police checks and also generate awareness among road users.

“Till Sunday, we had prosecuted as many as 585 people for drunk driving of which 209 were driving cars and 302 were driving two-wheelers,” said Garg.