The number of motorists booked for drink driving in the city dropped from eight on Holi-eve to five on the night of Holi, police officers said.

A section of officers attributed the drop to the decision to not use breathalysers to detect drink driving, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

In the absence of breathalysers, only those motorists were being prosecuted who were visibly drunk.

“If a motorist was spotted driving in a visibly drunk state, we are taking him to the police station and then to the nearest government hospital for an alcohol test,” said a traffic sergeant.

According to Section 185 of the motor vehicles act 1988, a person can be imprisoned for up to six months or fined Rs 2,000 if a breathalyser test shows alcohol in excess of 30mg per 100ml of blood for the first time.

Subsequent offences can result in imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of Rs 3,000.

The Telegraph had on March 7 reported that Calcutta police would no longer use breathalysers to identify drink driving because the use of the same device by multiple people could lead to the spread of the coronavirus.

A senior officer said vigil against drink driving would continue this way till the coronavirus scare subsided.

The total count of prosecution on Monday and Tuesday stands at 13, compared to 50 on the evening of Holi and Holi-eve last year.

The traffic cops on Tuesday night also prosecuted 195 motorcyclists for riding without a helmet, 124 for riding with more than one pillion rider, 27 for dangerous driving and 11 for other types of traffic rule violations.

The number of people arrested for disorderly conduct was 428 on Tuesday, compared with 656 on Monday.