Bhubaneswar: In order to prevent road accidents due to human negligence, the state government will launch an intensive drive against drunk driving across Odisha from Thursday.
According to a notification issued by Lalmohan Sethi, additional commissioner, enforcement, Transport department, the drive against driving vehicles after consuming alcohol will be carried out for 3 days from Thursday.
The Transport officials with the help of police will check the vehicle riders on major roads in the cities and National Highway from 3 pm to midnight, he said.
The additional commissioner has warned that anybody found driving after consumption of alcohol during the drive would face legal action that may lead to jail sentence besides the penalty. A direction in this regard has been issued to the officials of the department, Sethi said.
“The RTOs have been directed to hand over the drunk drivers to police. We will ensure that those negligent drivers are forwarded to the court,” he added.
According to the data shared by the Odisha Police, 5,081 people have died in road accidents in 2021 against 4,738 deaths in 2020, registering an increase of 7.24%. During January to September in 2022, total 3,983 people have lost their lives in road accidents. The death figure stood at 3,730 during the nine months the previous year.
