Over 7,000 bikers were prosecuted for riding without a helmet and 733 motorists for drink driving in the Kolkata Police area between October 7 (Chaturthi) and October 13 (Dashami), police said on Monday.

The special police deployment for Puja, which included over 3,000 constables and 5,000 home guards, started on October 7.

Kolkata Police sources said at least 15 key naka checkpoints were set up across the city, including one each at Chingrighata, Patuli, Behala Chowrasta and Dhalai Bridge near Garia. Police teams at the checkpoints booked drivers of cars and two-wheelers for violations.

"Over 4,000 motorists were prosecuted between October 7 and October 13 for allowing more than two persons on the pillion, in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act. The prosecutions were carried out both during the daytime and at night,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

In Salt Lake and its adjoining areas, the police prosecuted over 300 persons for violating traffic rules on the festive days. The offences included drink driving and riding two-wheelers without wearing a helmet, said an officer of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.

Last year, nearly 600 motorists, including about 500 in Calcutta, were prosecuted between Saptami night and Ashatmi morning for violating traffic rules.

Riding without a helmet was the reason for the majority of the prosecutions in the early hours of the day, the police said.

"Over 900 people were prosecuted between October 7 and October 13 for rash and negligent driving," an officer of Kolkata Police said. "This year, the focus was as much on crowd management in pandals as it was on enforcing traffic rules and penalising violators.”

The better part of the Saptami morning and late afternoon saw traffic crawl on some of the major roads in the city. The situation improved after 4pm. The Ashtami and Navami evenings saw maximum crowds on the roads.

"Senior officers were in the control room of the police headquarters at Lalbazar throughout the evening and till late at night on the Puja days to ensure there were no major traffic disruptions," the officer said.