“If you are caught drunk in the night, you will have to attend this counselling session for a day. But if you are caught inebriated in the day, you will have to come here for three days.”
The 108 persons at the counselling session organised by Hyderabad police for those caught for drunken driving during the surprise checks on Monday laughed. But Harish, a traffic cop who also counsels, was not exactly joking. The police are indeed worried that a significant number of Hyderabadis are choosing to get drunk during the day.
The Hyderabad police received a rude jolt on July 1 when 9-year-old Ramya and her uncle died when their car was hit by another vehicle driven by a drunk 20-year-old. Ramya’s grandfather is still in hospital and said to be critical while her mother had to undergo surgery in her leg. The engineering student Shravil, who was arrested, had for company five other friends, who also were drunk.
Hyderabad reacted with anger, which is what has forced the cops to crack the whip. Though over 1000 cases of drunken driving during the day had been registered between January 2015 and June 2016, the Ramya tragedy revealed that daytime needed to be monitored as closely as the night over the weekends.
“I do not say do not drink. I say do not drink and drive,” says Harish. “I won’t even say `Welcome to this session’. I hope you will never come back for another session.”
The police has also asked the excise department to issue notice to the pub that served liquor to the six students, all of who are below 21 years of age, the legally permitted age for drinking. Statistics also show that 600 minors were caught driving in an inebriated state in the last 18 months.
Earlier this year, the traffic police with the permission of the court had begun making offenders stand at traffic junctions holding placards that said `Don’t Drink and Drive’, `A family is waiting for you at home’ etc. Some of them were also made to do community service at hospitals in Hyderabad.
“For those who commit accidents under the influence of alcohol, we plan to make it difficult for them to get a passport or a visa,” says L S Chowhan, DCP (Traffic), Hyderabad.
