Bhubaneswar: After a special drive was undertaken by Odisha police to check drunken driving , purportedly one of the major reasons behind accident deaths in the state, a total of 426 persons have so far been arrested under Motor Vehicles Amendment Act -2019.

Shockingly, of the 426 persons, as many as 141 drunken drivers were arrested on a single day yesterday. Ganjam topped the list with 26 arrested persons followed by Jajpur (20) and Sambalpur (18).

Worth mentioning, the special drive against drunken drivers was launched on September 6. As part of the drive, police personnel intercept vehicles on all national highways and state highways in the state. Around 5,000 commuters were inspected yesterday.

The drive aims at bringing down the number of drunk drivers in the state and thereby minimizing road accidents. However, police officials have been instructed to not harass public and hamper traffic movement while carrying out the inspection.