The Hyderabad Traffic Police on Tuesday caught an auto driver who was ferrying school children in his vehicle, in a heavily inebriated condition.
The driver, K Venkatesh, was caught by authorities near Gulzar Houz during a special drive being conducted. Besides overcrowding seven children in his vehicle while heading to a school at Himayatnagar, the police said that the accused was heavily drunk.
As the police got the smell of alcohol, a breath analyser test was conducted, and the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) count was a whopping 266 mg/100 ml, compared to the permissible alcohol limit of 30 mg/100 ml of blood, i.e. 30 micrograms/100 ml of blood.
The vehicle was seized on the spot and alternate arrangements were made to send the children to school. A case was registered against Venkatesh and he was presented in front of a local court.
As schools in Hyderabad have re-opened for a fresh academic year, the Road Transport Authority (RTA) and the city's traffic police have been cracking down on vehicles like autos, vans and buses, which ferry the students and resort to overcrowding. As part of the special drive, the police said that over 500 cases had been registered in a single week, out of which many dealt with overcrowded autos and vans.
The police also said that around 30 teams had been formed in coordination with the RTA and the authorities also found that many vehicles did not have proper documents.
The teams are also carrying breath analysers to check whether the drivers are in a drunken condition
A similar drive is conducted by the police each year, to ensure the safety of children. During the checks conducted in June last year, authorities also found 33 drivers who were operating their vehicles without a driving license.