Mohali: Drunken driving a cause for concern but only 39 challans issued till June

Till June 19 this year, 168 people have lost their lives while 243 got injured in 288 road accidents which occurred in various parts of the district. Most of the victims were either young college students or professionals.

The civil as well as traffic police authorities blame the rising traffic volume for the road accidents and point out that merely increasing the number of nakas will not serve the purpose. They also want the general public to cooperate with them in order to reduce the number of road accidents.

[related-post]

Watch Video: What’s making news

To bring down the number of road accidents, the traffic police identified more accident-prone areas or black spots in different parts of the district, which would enable commuters to drive sensibly.

Last year, 124 deaths were reported in 227 road accidents in the district from January 1 to July 27. In 2014, a total of 211 lives were lost in 450 road accidents in the district while 370 people suffered injuries.

Drunken driving, overspeeding and traffic of heavy vehicles, especially in Lalru, Zirakpur and Derabassi areas, are said to be responsible for the high number of accidents. But as far as action against drunk drivers is concerned, not much has been done. In the last six months, the number of drunken driving challans is only 39 in the city. The reason for the low rate of drunken driving challans is said to be lack of equipment with the district police. At present, the district traffic police has 10 alco meters, out of which four are not working properly.

Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar asserts that the reason for the spurt in road accidents is the rapid increase in the volume of traffic and movement of heavy vehicles in the district. “Traffic police alone can’t do anything to stop accidents; participation of the general public is very much important. We had already talked to Municipal Corporation and GMADA to make traffic lights functional,” he says.