Visakhapatnam: Tipplers, be ready to pick up litter if you are caught driving!

Visakhapatnam: If you have a habit of driving after downing a few pegs, there is a higher possibility of not just paying a penalty but also clearing litter in public spots.

This is what happened to 52 persons who were booked in drunken drive cases by the city police. Little did they realise that they would be cleaning the beach road one fine day for following unsafe driving.

However, when the order was given by the Visakhapatnam metropolitan magistrate as punishment, there was no escape.

Both the police and the courts are taking serious action against motorists who drive vehicles under the influence of alcohol because they pose a risk not just for themselves but also other road users.

Earlier, violators would be slapped with penalties. Even as the system is being replaced with being locked behind the bars and other embarrassing exercises, the drunken driving cases, however, are not going down.

As a result, the police are carrying out extensive checks to deal with them strictly followed by the court's serious judgments.

The recent one added to the list is the Visakhapatnam metropolitan magistrate giving a novel punishment to a group of 52 motorists, who were caught drunk driving in the last three days. The court ordered them to clean the litter along the beach as punishment and bring in behavioural change among the tipplers, perhaps the first time anywhere in the state. Following the verdict, the police took the persons to RK Beach and made them clear the litter along the beach.

At regular intervals, city police commissioner Ch Srikanth is monitoring cases filed against those who drive under the influence of alcohol through special drives. Also, young people who were caught in drunken driving cases were being punished to create traffic awareness at busy junctions by holding placards under community service. This too is being followed as per the court orders.

This apart, on October 1 last year, the Bheemunipatnam court charged 142 people who were caught on drunken driving cases with penalties and sent them to jail for five days. "Drunken driving causes danger not just to the motorists who are involved in it but also to the other road users. It is the responsibility of every motorist to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Please, don't ruin the future with court convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol," appeals the commissioner of police.