December 31, night of revelry: 37,654 cases of drunk driving in Bengaluru; 778 detained by Mumbai Police

Excitement usually knows no bounds, especially when the end of a year also coincides with the end of a decade. In many ways, 2019 marked the end of an era, however, the festivities on several occasions every year only serve to remind how celebrations should also, almost always, include a modicum of responsibilities.

The Mumbai Police caught as many as 778 people for drinking and driving. According to police sources, among these were 578 bikes and 200 cars. On this night, the Mumbai police had put blockades across several parts of the city to route traffic and curb road accidents. Cops warned the ones breaching traffic rules of strict action the next time.

Nagpur reported 1092 cases of drinking and driving and careless driving. The Nagpur police had set up checks across 50 places in the city and 592 persons were fined for drunken driving. Almost 500 vehicles were fined for violating traffic rules. The police appealed to the RTO to cancel the licenses of people fined for drunken driving.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, the police reported 188 incidents of drunk driving and 36 incidents of rash driving. The following statistics were given by the Kolkata traffic police in a report.

In Bengaluru, the traffic police conducted special checks from 8 pm on December 31 to nab drunk drivers as revelers began their new year celebrations. Several roads were closed for the smooth flow of traffic. According to a police report, the city as many as 37,654 cases of drunken driving up to November this year.

In the national capital, the Delhi police had issued a traffic advisory urging people to not drink and drive and had also imposed restrictions on the night of 31st December at several places in the city which were expected to see high footfall, such as Connaught Place (CP) and several locales across South Delhi. A similar advisory was issued in Gurugram and Haryana.