Cops crack the whip on traffic violators, collect `43 lakh as fines

Bengaluru: Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have resumed operation to recover pending fines from traffic violators and collected Rs 43.09 lakh on Wednesday and registered 8,362 cases.

B R Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), has stated that the drive was conducted on roads where vehicle users often violated traffic rules presuming there would be no cops. Some of the vehicle users who had not paid the fines in the past were caught breaking traffic rules again.

The pending fine was also collected from them along with fresh fines. "We collected Rs 12.36 lakh in pending dues in 3,697 cases and another Rs 30.65 lakh by registering 4,665 new cases," said a police statement.

the traffic police suspended their drive against violators due to the outbreak of Covid-19. With coronavirus cases showing a decline, police are cracking the whip again against major violations like drunk driving.

Traffic police had suspended use of breathalyser, a device used to ascertain alcohol content in a person's blood, fearing spread of coronavirus during random checks. It was not resumed even after the lockdown was lifted because health protocols were in place.

The reports of previous years show that traffic police usually book around 40,000-50,000 drunk- driving cases per year in the city and the revenue ran into crores of rupees. However, the number of cases booked in 2020 (till March) was only 5,343.