Bhubaneswar: Police have decided to intensify road patrol in the twin cities on late nights during weekends.

The police have advised people to carry their identity proofs and papers of their vehicles if they remain outdoors till midnight, especially during weekends.

Deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said that the main objective behind the increased night patrols was to detect people driving in an inebriated state and other nuisance makers.

All police stations in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have been asked to penalise rash and drunk drivers on the spot.

"We urge the people to carry identity proofs along with driving licence and other papers related to their cars. We also urge the city residents to co-operate with the police in our drive," said Sahoo.

Drinking in public places in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar witnessed a sharp decrease in 2017 compared to 2016.

Some 21,787 people were penalised for consumption of alcohol in public places in the twin cities in 2017.

In 2016, the figure stood at only 13,046.

The police collected a penalty of Rs 1.07 crore from drunk drivers in 2017, while only Rs 64.52 lakh was collected in the previous year.

The police said that the drive would also help them in detecting stolen motorcycles.

"This would also ensure that the snatchers and other criminals are not able to escape easily after committing any crime. We have asked our officers to ensure that patients and others going for essential services, such as health care and railway, do not face any inconvenience due to the checks," said another police officer.

Night patrolling will be intensified on the both the national highways (16 and 203) passing through Bhubaneswar.

Several loot cases were reported from both the highways in the recent past especially during night hours.

"A meeting will soon be convened with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the National Highways Authority of India to fix defunct light poles on these two highways," said police.

Brown sugar

Excise sleuths on Sunday arrested two brown sugar peddlers and seized 30 grams of the contraband from their possession near Pipili in Puri district.

The officials said that the market value of the seized contraband would be around Rs 3 lakh.

The accused have been identified as Devraj Rout and Sadaynath Lenka.