200 traffic police teams to book rowdy revellers today

 About 200 traffic police teams, accompanied by the local police and PCR vans, will be deployed across Delhi to check traffic violations on Holi.

Senior officers said they would not hesitate to arrest, cancel licence and impose fines on drunk drivers on Friday.

Police would also rely heavily on still and video cameras to prosecute offenders who get away from police or who cannot be prosecuted on the spot due to the rush.

Challans to such violators would be sent to their homes, said Muktesh Chander, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic). More than 4,000 such motorists were issued challans to their homes on festival days.

To check drunk driving, the special traffic police teams will be armed with alcometers. “If caught, the drivers are liable to be arrested and their vehicles impounded, besides prosecution,” said police. Twenty interceptor vehicles will be pressed into service to detect violators.

They shall also be taught on the spot about the negative effects of drunk driving and the dangers associated with the menace. The traffic police have also warned of action against the registered owners of vehicles which are found to be driven by minors, by unauthorised persons or used for performing stunts.

With many motorists taking liberties on the Holi day, there has always been a need for special arrangements by police to check traffic violators. With a larger police presence on the roads on the day, prosecutions of traffic violators have risen over the years while the number of accidents and deaths has dipped.

Six persons had died in road accidents on Holi last year while 14 died in 2013. The worst year in terms of road accident deaths on Holi was 2006 when the toll reached 20.

The number of prosecutions, meanwhile, was higher last year. As against 10,339 challans issued in 2013, last year, 13,015 motorists were prosecuted. These included 2,090 drunk drivers while in 2013, the figure stood at 1,278.