Bars In Kolkata To Conduct Breathalyser Test To Prevent Drunk Driving — Details

Kolkata Police has directed bars in the city to conduct breathalyser tests on customers for preventing drunk driving.

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New Delhi: Kolkata Police directed bars in the city to conduct breathalyser tests on customers to prevent those drunk beyond the permissible limit from driving back home in their vehicles. Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal while speaking at a session on 'Kolkata Safety and Security - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow', organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, said that this directive was issued to all the bars in the city to prevent drunk driving.

"Drunk driving is a legal offence. It's the reason for several road accidents. We have already sent a directive to all the bars in the city to purchase breathalysers to test every person leaving the bar after drinking. The bars must not allow them to drive back home in case they are found intoxicated beyond a certain level," he said, as per news agency PTI.

He added that if a person is found to be drinking excessively or drunk beyond the permissible limit then the bar must ensure that he/she is not riding or driving a bike. He said, "The bar will arrange for the person to reach home by other means. If necessary, they can also take the help of the police."

Bars will give slips to those undergoing tests which they can then show at checkpoints to prevent further tests. Deaths due to road accidents in Kolkata have reduced from 450 in 2016 to 185 in 2022, said Goyal.

Along with this, Kolkata Police has also decided to install 3,000 CCTV cameras across the city, while also focusing on the narrow lanes, said Goyal. While expressing concern over the rising number of cyber crimes, he said that each police station in the city would have at least four thoroughly trained police personnel to deal with incidents of such nature.

He concluded by saying, "Already 3,000 police personnel have been trained in this regard, while another 2,000 are undergoing training."

Joint Commissioner (Crime) Murli Dhar, Joint Commissioner (Intelligence) Kalyan Mukhopadhyay, Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) SK Yadav and Deputy Commissioner (South East Division) Sudeep Sarkar also attended the programme. Murli Dhar while referring to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data of 2021, said that crimes against women were lowest in the city of Kolkata among the 19 metros in India. He said, "To strengthen the safety of women, 50 bikes will be kept at various police stations in the city to reach a spot quickly."

(With inputs from PTI)