Tightening its noose against the drunk driving in the State Capital, the Commissionerate Police has decided to act strongly against the tipsy drivers to curb alcohol-impaired driving fatalities.
According to sources, now driving in an inebriated condition may attract a hefty fine of Rs 5000 in the Urban Police District (UPD).
Similarly, the licence of the driver will be cancelled if he/she meets with an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol, sources added.
“More than 80 per cent of accidental death is due to drunk driving. So we are taking all necessary measures to curb drunk driving by taking stringent action against the violators,” Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh said.
Notably, Odisha witnessed a 7.6 per cent rise in road accident fatalities in 2022 as against 2021. Similarly from 2014 to 2021, the number of fatalities increased by 29 per cent in the State.
According to a data released by the Odisha Police, the State witnessed 11,663 road accidents with 5,467 fatalities in 2022 as compared to 5,081 deaths in 2021.
In 2021, as many as 132 minor boys and 23 minor girls died in separate road accidents, the data revealed.