Bengaluru traffic police to restart crack down on drunk drivers after Covid hiatus

11-02-2021

The city�s traffic police are all set to restart drunk drivers� monitoring. They had suspended it after the Covid outbreak. Kamal Pant, Bengaluru police commissioner told , �We are yet to decide on the date of commencement of the crackdown against drunk driving. We are discussing modalities pertaining to the drive and will take a decision after consultations.� The step to take action against drunk driving comes after there was a huge fall in the number of Covid cases in Bengaluru, beginning of vaccination for police personnel and the pressure to collect revenues through fines on the way to Karnataka budget to be presented in March. With everything, including pubs and bars open now, people are moving around. A senior police officer said, �It would be unfair on our part to not penalise those who are driving around the city under the influence of alcohol. We have been getting reports about people coming out of bars and riding vehicles without any fear of being caught by cops. It is high time we bring back order on the roads.� Traffic cops had let go of breathalyser, a device used to measure the alcohol content in a person, scared of the transmission of Covid during random monitoring. Suspending crackdown against drunk driving had affected revenues. Another police officer said, �The penalty for drinking and driving was Rs 2,000 but it was hiked to Rs 10,000. Restarting the drive will increase revenue manifold for the government. When the pandemic was at its peak, cops feared stopping motorists. But now they are being vaccinated and that has emboldened them.� B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, joint commissioner said, �We are holding a meeting with experts to understand the situation better and to discuss if it is viable to conduct the test and how to go about it. We will be coming up with a plan of action.�