140 held for drunken driving in 24 hours in Odisha

The Odisha Police has arrested at least 140 people from various places of the state in a span of 24 hours for driving after consuming alcohol, a senior police officer on Saturday.

The drive started at 4 pm on Friday, the interim Director General of Police (DGP) of Odisha, Satyajit Mohanty, said.

Out of them, 27 people were arrested in Ganjam district, Mohanty said.

"Our drive against drunken driving will continue. In the last 24 hours 140 drivers have been arrested for drunken driving in the state," the interim DGP said, adding, the offenders have been fined Rs 10,000 each under the provisions of the MV Act, 2019.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police (CP) of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate, Sudhanshu Sarangi, said it has been decided to impose a monetary penalty as per the provisions of the MV Act, 2019 on any person found violating traffic rules, including drunken driving.

"If anyone violates traffic rules, fines would be slapped through challan. We have instructed the traffic personnel not to argue with the rule violators," Sarangi said.

"If they do not pay the fine in cash on the spot, a fine will be slapped through a challan and sent to their address so that they will pay the cash at the counter of Regional Transport Office (RTO) within a specified timeline," he said.

In case they do not pay the fine, the offenders will have to pay it with interest at the time of depositing the annual tax at the RTO, he added.

Replying a question, Sarangi said traffic rule offenders will be identified through CCTVs in places where traffic personnel are not in duty.

Though the state government has allowed three-month relaxation to obtain the required vehicle documents, the traffic rule violators would not be spared, state Commerce and Transport minister, Padmanabha Behera, said.

Behera also said that the provisions under the MV Act, 2019 will be strictly implemented in the state after three months from December 1, 2019.