Bars see red as Mumbai police fight drink driving
MUMBAI (Reuters) - A crackdown on drink driving has been so successful in India's financial and entertainment capital that bar owners are despairing, with sales down by almost half and scared patrons staying away even on weekends.
Police in Mumbai, until recently known for poor enforcement of traffic laws like in most other Indian cities, began cracking the whip after a spate of accidents by intoxicated drivers.
More than 8,000 people have been booked and even first-time offenders have been jailed since the crackdown began about three months ago.
The action seems to be yielding results if the sharp fall in liquor sales is anything to go by.
Many of Mumbai's hotel and restaurant owners say sales are down 50 percent and regulars are now drinking at home.
"They are so strict that someone driving after even one drink is hauled up," Manjeet Singh, the head of the bar owners' association, told Reuters. "Our sales are down by half."
Youngsters already complain that nightlife in India's biggest and most cosmopolitan city has become dull since authorities imposed a midnight curfew hour for most bars and closed down hundreds of popular dance bars, saying they breed crime and prostitution.
On the other hand, bar owners say that to stay in business they need to spend more time in government offices than pouring drinks, seeking permits for anything from parking to pest control to playing music.
"MAKE IT MEANINGFUL"
Now, police patrol the streets at night armed with breath-analyzers and speed guns, targeting vehicles in the vicinity of pubs and restaurants.
Bar owners see a direct link between the police drive and a drop in Mumbai's beer consumption by some 300,000 liters and other liquor by 100,000 liters in September alone.
Singh says bar owners are happy to take a hit for a good cause, but feel the police should differentiate between "someone who's had one peg and someone who is sloshed" as the law also allows roughly the equivalent of one drink for a driver.
"That way, this drive will be more meaningful and will also not hurt us as badly," he said.
Police say they will press ahead with the crackdown which was partly prompted after an inebriated youngster mowed down seven people last year.
The most high-profile drink driving accident involved Bollywood star Salman Khan who is being tried on charges of running over a man sleeping on a pavement in an upmarket Mumbai neighborhood in 2002.
Some residents accuse the police of using the drive to extort money with the threat of jail or a hefty fine. But a senior traffic police officer said rules were being followed.
"Where is the question of any fudging?" asked S.S. Solunke, a deputy traffic police commissioner. "The alcohol content in the air exhaled is clearly mentioned in the breath-analyzer report. All rules are followed."
