Pune:The PMC is exploring the possibility of installing breathalysers at all water filling stations following the recent accidents to ensure that tanker drivers are sober while hitting roads,“Breathalyser tests will be conducted on tanker drivers before every trip. Legal action will be taken if any driver is found to be intoxicated,” said Nandkishor Jagtap, the head of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s water supply department.Two youngsters – Pargenagar’s Aariz Shaikh (19) and Wanowrie’s Gracia Daniel Isa (22) – were killed after separate water tankers hit their two-wheelers on NIBM-Raheja Vista Road and near Ganga Satellite society in Wanowrie on April 5 and 7, respectively. The driver of one of the tankers involved in the accidents was allegedly drunk. This prompted the PMC’s plan to install breathalysers at water filling stations.Breathalysers are used to measure blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of drivers. According to a senior PMC official, the civic administration will seek help from the traffic police to set up the test system, train civic employees to conduct tests on tanker drivers and maintain records.Tankers of contractors fill water at designated points — Ramwadi, Swargate, Bund Garden, Patwardhan Baug, Yerawada, Chaturshrungi and Pashan — in the PMC limits. Civic tankers make around 1,400 trips daily.Residents and civic activists claimed that tanker drivers’ rude behaviour and rash driving were increasing the probability of accidents. They lambasted the civic authorities for their failure to track movement of tankers.Additional commissioner of Pune police Manoj Patil said, “The traffic police are carrying out regular checks to streamline the tanker operation in the city. After the accidents, our office is considering measures like restrictions on the movement of these vehicles. If things work out, the timing of tanker operations will be restricted on the lines of curbs on heavy vehicles.”
