Drunk driving: Chandigarh leaves behind Panchkula, Mohali in curbing menace
Chandigarh police have 66 alco meters, Mohali cops have 10 and their Panchkula counterparts have only seven
Mohali police checking during drunken drive naka at Mohali-Chandigarh border. Express file photo
Chandigarh police are far ahead of their counterparts in Panchkula and Mohali when it comes to cracking the whip on drunken driving. As per records, Chandigarh has issued the maximum challans while Panchkula and Mohali are struggling to put a check on the menace.
In all, the Chandigarh police have distributed 66 alco meters among all the 16 police stations. As per official record, a total of 2,181 challans for drunken driving have been issued in Chandigarh from January till June 30. The total number of challans issued last year were 4,037.
“We are keeping a strict vigil on drunk and driving cases. To put an end to this, we have been regularly setting up checkposts across the city. Moreover, the equipment is timely upgraded and we have plans to order more alco meters,” Singhal said.
Chandigarh police’s claim seems apt as 34 people were sent behind bars for drunken driving on Holi.
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On the other hand, with just 10 alco meters at their disposal, Mohali police have just issued 39 challans for drunken driving in the same period. Of 10 alco meters, two have been given to cops deployed in Mohali city and remaining eight have distributed in police stations across the districts. Sources in the traffic police told Chandigarh Newsline that out of 10 alco meters only six are functional.
“Mohali is ill-equipped to tackle drunken driving, which is resulting in fatal accidents. We need 6 more alco meters so that checkposts can be installed at maximum places to track the violators,” said a senior cop.
The city has also become prone to fatal accidents and drunken driving is said to be one reason. On an average, at least one person is getting killed in the district every day.
“We are purchasing new equipment including alco meters. The equipment will arrive shortly and the traffic police will take strict action against the violators,” informed Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.
In Panchkula, the district police seems to be lagging far behind when the it comes to the availability of alco meters. In all, there are only seven such meters, out of which only four are functioning properly.
A senior cop told Chandigarh Newsline that the those functional alco meters are being used on a sharing basis by the eight police stations in there respective areas. Moreover, checkposts are not being installed on a regular basis. Mostly, the police is relying on surprise checks to nab the offenders.
District Police has written to the local administration to upgrade the equipment and increase the number of alco meters. The police sources say that the equipment will be made available by next month.
“We have given a written application to the higher authorities for upgrading the equipment as the current equipment is not sufficient and needs attention,” said Inspector Suresh Kumar.
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