By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas Tuesday said here that the state government will soon bring new laws to see that anyone caught driving under the influence of alcohol will have to undergo a jail term.
Thomas made the announcement at a gathering of college student. Later, he told IANS that the state cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday will discuss this issue.
“We have decided that there can be no leniency in curbing irresponsible driving under the influence of alcohol. To bring this into effect, we will approach the centre because the Motor Vehicle Act is a central one. With the concurrence of the centre, the state can make amendments and we will do it to include a jail term for those caught drunk and driving,” he said.
“Apart from the proposed jail term, we are also going to raise all the fines to be collected by the Motor Vehicles department. Drunken driving just cannot be accepted in the wake of numerous accidents being reported,” he added.
Last fiscal, Kerala State Beverages Corp (KSBC), the sole wholesaler of liquor and beer in the state, reported a record sale of both at Rs.36.67 billion, up from Rs.31.43 billion in 2006-07.