Hyderabad needs a larger drive?

While the recent case of drunken driving leaving a nine-year-old girl brain dead in the city is still fresh in our memories, and outrage against those responsible still burning in our hearts, talk has once again shifted towards what our traffic police has been doing to curb this menace.

Hyderabad has seen a rise in the number of checks that happen, as well as in the number of drivers being punished for drunken driving.“It used to be only on weekends but now it happens almost every day and there’s no restriction on timings. We’re still trying to understand and address the issue appropriately from our side,” says Jitender, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

One of the drives undertaken by the traffic police

He also adds that their drive’s effects can be seen among “white-collar” citizens: “Such cases (the nine-year-old girl’s accident) should not happen and it’s serious, but our campaign has brought about awareness. Drunken driving among white-collar people has drastically come down. Earlier, there used to be 50 per cent of cases from white collared people, but today it’s hardly 10 or 20 per cent.”

Higher earning crowds are more aware about the consequences of drunken driving, adds event organiser Vijay Amritraj, with pubs in the city beginning to be more active with their customers’ commutes: Posters telling patrons to take a cab back home can be seen at many places around town, with club management helping them get one. “There’s no reason why pub or club owners will not take responsibility for customers who cannot get back home. Because they’ll know that 15-20 per cent at the end of the day won’t be in a position to drive back or have a friend who’s sober who can,” says Vijay.

Aparajita Sinha, founder of a film club, however, thinks that it’s a societal issue that needs to be addressed. She says, “I think there is a general rise in callousness and indifference particularly in young people.

“And until it happens to you, you just don’t take it seriously. You never think that you could hit somebody and ruin their life forever.”

“I think it’s a question of educating and awareness, and involving the whole community so to speak,” agrees Vijay, adding, “People like Salman Khan run over people and get out of jail, and others also think they can do the same. I think three or four big cases of putting people behind bars and taking stringent action will send a very strong message.”