In order to check road accidents which are being reported almost daily in Dehradun and other parts of the Garhwal Range, Garhwal Range IG/DIG Sanjay Kumar Gunjiyal met the district police officers over video conferencing at his office on Thursday and directed them to launch a vigorous drive against drunk driving in their respective districts for two days starting from December 11. Action under Motor Vehicle (MV) Act should be taken against the errant drivers, he said while stressing that detailed reports on actions taken should be submitted to his office by 9 pm on Sunday.
Gunjiyal sounded distressed over rising cases of road accidents being reported in the Range area. He directed the district police officers to check their alcometre or, if needed, have them activated. They might procure it from other departments like transport and excise by Thursday evening, he said.
“They need to ensure that drunken driving is stopped in their respective districts at any cost,” he said. The police officers were directed to establish coordination with health department officers for seeking medical check of traffic rule violators in order to ensure that the drive is effective, he said.
Observers opine that police administration finally sitting up in alarm over the spiraling incidents of road accidents is a welcome development. “But the drives against violation of traffic rules should continue without a break,” one of them says.
The refrain runs that road accidents are occurring almost daily because of various reasons like over-speeding, rash driving, triple riding, drunk driving and dilapidated roads. Especially, in Dehradun and Haridwar districts, things are in a total mess despite City Petrol Unit (CPU) personnel being deployed to impose penalty on traffic violation.
As per statistics, around 250 accidents have occurred since January this year, resulting in the death of around 100 and injury of over 250.