The laxity of police in controlling drunken driving is resulting in spate in cases accidents associated with them. In two separate cases involving drunken driving on late Wednesday night and Thursday 2 am, three people, including two women, died while a dozen sustained injuries.
The first incident occurred near Nanda Ki Chowki area when a high speed car stuck many vehicles which resulted in death of a student of polytechnic college and injury to 10 people. In the second incident an apparently drunk group collided their car on an electric pole after hitting the road divider on the Mussoorie- Dehradun road near the National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH). The collision resulted in instant death of two women passengers while two seriously injured men are battling for life at the Max Hospital. According to the district police four people were returning from Mussoorie when their car met with an accident. The police said that the deceased included one Kathelina Edward a resident of Dakra (Dehradun) while the identity of other dead women is yet to be established. The medical examinations of two injured youths have confirmed that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. The injured youths are Aditya Choudhary resident of Chaman Vihar, Dehradun and Akash Arora who is a resident of Kashipur.
Two gory accidents which happened within hours of each other have exposed the laxity of police to check drunken driving. Though the police are equipped with devices like alcometers it rarely uses them to apprehend the drunken drivers. Though the police have taken measures like formation of the City Patrol Unit (CPU) to improve traffic regulation, the condition of the traffic in Dehradun continues to deteriorate. Traffic congestion and traffic accidents have become common occurrences in the State capital with the authorities failing to take effective measures for tackling these problems.