Around 2,000 two-wheeler-riders were prosecuted for riding without helmets between Saturday night and the evening of December 31 and more than 2,500 were prosecuted for violating the stop-line, police said.
The number of prosecutions for drink driving was less than 40 since Saturday.
A large number of the riders who were on the roads on Saturday and Sunday were not wearing helmets. When stopped by cops, they cited the festive season as a excuse for violating the traffic rule.
“Many errant motorists pleaded with officers not to spoil the festive mood by taking a stern action against them," said a police officer who was posted at the Park Street-Loudon Street crossing on Saturday night.
Officers in the traffic department, however, said they followed a “zero tolerance” policy when it came to prosections for traffic rule violations.
According to police records, 1,855 two-wheeler-riders were prosecuted for riding without a helmet between Saturday night and Sunday evening.
The prosecution figures for violating parking rules, stop-line violation and signal violation during the same period were 2,903, 2,546 and 1,265 motorists, respectively.
The police said 37 persons were prosecuted for drink driving in Kolkata between Saturday and Sunday evening.
“One of the biggest problems we face on the roads is speeding. On Saturday and Sunday, 815 persons have been prosecuted for speeding,” said an officer.
A car with four people apparently lost control and mounted a footpath along Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, in Ballygunge, before crashing into a tree on Sunday morning.
The police said the car was speeding. None of the occupants of the car was injured.
Officers at the Kolkata police headquarters in Lalbazar said there was extra deployment of police personnel across the city for New Year’s Eve.
“Around 2,500 police personnel have been posted on and around Park Street as the area witnesses huge footfall on the night of December 31," said an officer at Lalbazar.
The police urged revellers to call 100 to report any crime or seek help.
In the Bidhannagar commissionerate area, more than 40 persons were arrested between Saturday night and Sunday evening in Salt Lake, Baguiati, Kestopur, New Town and Rajarhat, among other places, for traffic rule violations.
"Cases have been started against a couple of persons for various charges, including preventing a public servant from discharging duty," said a senior officer of the commissionerate.
Another officer of the commissionerate said a large number of people had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Many were also booked for driving or riding in a rash or negligent way or riding two-wheelers without wearing a helmet.
Most of the arrests for traffic rule violations were made on VIP Road and the Major Arterial Road.
“We have arrested a number of people for driving under the influence of alcohol,” the officer said.
