In an effort to curb accidents involving drunk drivers, the Nandyal district police intensified checks against drunk driving and apprehended 1,500 persons driving under the influence of alcohol in nearly three months.

With drunk driving turning out to be a major cause of accidents and fatalities, the police decided to curb the menace sternly. According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Suneel Sheoran, officers and personnel across all police station limits in the district were asked to conduct checks on drunk driving. These checks were carried out at key intersections, near schools and colleges, and in other accident-prone areas.

In the checks conducted between March 1 and May 28, 1,500 drivers were caught and a fine of over ₹33.93 lakh was imposed on the violators, while 17 of them were sent to judicial remand.

According to the SP, 1,190 persons were apprehended in drunk driving cases in Nandyal sub-division alone. Of these, fines totalling ₹13.50 lakh were imposed on 1,187 individuals, while three were sentenced to approximately 15 days of imprisonment.

In Allagadda sub-division, 139 persons were detained and a fine of ₹3.73 lakh was collected from 136 violators, while three were sentenced to approximately 10 days of imprisonment. While in Dhone sub-division, 60 were caught, fines amounting to ₹3.90 lakh were imposed on 49 individuals, while 11 individuals were sentenced to approximately 15 days of imprisonment.

Meanwhile, in Atmakur sub-division, 128 individuals were caught and the court imposed fines totalling ₹12.80 lakh on the violators.

Though awareness programmes were held in colleges and schools, as well as through other mediums, to educate the general public about road safety, accidents continue to happen frequently due to lack of behavioural change among the people, the SP said.

To prevent road accidents, the police have identified accident-prone black spots along highways within the district. In coordination with various government departments, measures have been implemented to regulate vehicle speeds, including the installation of stop boards, sign boards, road reflectors, and speed breakers in both rural and urban areas.