At least 340 people were arrested in Calcutta and Salt Lake for drink driving on Kali Puja and Diwali nights.

In Calcutta, most of the prosecutions were reported from south Calcutta where police lay more emphasis on preventing drink driving.

In Salt Lake, 189 people were prosecuted on the two nights while the number was more than 150 in Calcutta.

A person can be fined Rs 2,000 or jailed for six months if he/she is found driving after drinking beyond the permissible limit (30mg in 100ml blood). Second and subsequent offence will attract a fine of Rs 3,000 and two years’ jail.

This year, special drives were conducted to check drink driving, the police said.

“We gave equal emphasis on curbing drink driving as we did on implementing the Supreme Court order on bursting firecrackers only between 8pm and 10pm,” an officer in Lalbazar said.

At a meeting last week, city police chief Rajeev Kumar told officers they should deploy all available resources to rein in motorcyclists zipping around the city without helmets and motorists with alcohol level beyond the permissible limit.

Apart from teams engaged to implement the apex court order, there were officers stationed outside bars, pubs and nightclubs to crack the whip against drink driving.

“A person driving a vehicle after drinking more than the permissible limit not just violates motor vehicles rules but also puts the lives of others at risk,” an officer said.

Special traffic teams were posted with breathalysers near flyovers, on the Bypass and on stretches that turn into speed corridors whenever traffic is light, the police said.