VIJAYAWADA: With a large number of police being on Pushkaram duty, drunkards and speedsters are having a gala time on the roads of Vijayawada city for the last few days. Youngsters driving in an inebriated condition at very high speed has become a common sight, particularly during nights. Moreover, there is also no proper enforcement over the closure of wine shops at many places in the city.
Eluru Road, Benz Circle area, BRTS Road and Bandar Road have turned into racing tracks with drunken youth speeding along. In the wee hours of Monday, a group of drunken persons created a ruckus by driving recklessly. Four of the inmates stuck their necks out of the speeding car.
Sources said that unlike other major cities, there are no dedicated teams for the traffic department of Vijayawada to take up drunk and drive inspections. Taking advantage of the situation, the youngsters are racing on the roads. Drunkards too are going scot-free.
“In major cities like Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, a special schedule is prepared every week to conduct drunken drive checks at specific spots with a traffic inspector or sub-inspector heading the team. But there are no such dedicated teams in Vijayawada,” the police sources admitted. According to them, there are five to six major junctions, including Benz circle, Eluru road, and BRTS road where the cops conduct special drives. Last time when the Vijayawada traffic police conducted special drives over the boozers in the first week of July, it was a major catch as three doctors were caught driving in an inebriated condition. But since then, there was no inspection in the city.
Many wine shops have been seen selling liquor even after the scheduled hours at night.