Kolkata’s nightlife struggles to find its groove again – Times of India

Kolkata News
Kolkata has moved on, beyond the pandemic, the pains it brought along, and the night curfews. The city’s nocturnal population is back in the bars, pubs and clubs, partying hard. But while the quintessential party animal hasn’t changed much in these two years, the world has. App cab drivers and even bikers have perfected the yellow cabbie’s art of asking for extra fare and refusing rides, and even the police are prosecuting tipsy drivers with a vengeance.
“I had gone to this Park Street restaurant with my wife and kid roughly a week ago. We ordered the food and I had a couple of drinks before dinner was served. Right after we started for home, we were stopped by the police and I had to undergo a breathalyser test. I don’t even want to get into what happened next. But I’ve promised myself that I won’t drink and drive again,” Partha Ghosh*, a sales manager with a multinational packaged food brand, told us.
In fact, Partha is among the 872 Kolkata drivers against whom drink-and-drive cases were registered in the first fortnight of April under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
So as the city gets back its nightlife, we spoke to a cross-section of party-goers about how they are working around the app cab and other issues. We also spoke to Kolkata Police about their anti-drink driving measures. Read on…

50 DRINK DRIVING CASES REGISTERED DAILY

Kolkata Police has been extra vigilant since breathalyser tests re-started. According to DCP (Traffic) Arijit Sinha, the police carry out breathalyser checks at 50 points across the city every night. “We register an average of 50 cases daily and the number increases to something between 70 and 80 on weekends,” he said, adding that the highest number of cases are registered in and around Park Street and Loudon Street.
When asked about the app cab refusal issue, he said, “Anyone in distress can call the TCR number as well as the 1073 helpline number. We help out a large number of commuters daily when it comes to app cabs. Refusal cases are dealt with under available provisions of the MV Act.”

WHY DRIVERS REFUSE RIDES

Drivers of app cabs and bike taxis cited a variety of reasons behind their demand for extra fare or refusals. “We are often fined hefty amounts by the police for plying without commercial licenses. But we were never asked to do so by the aggregator when we signed up. Then there’s the fuel price and also the random discounts by the aggregator. Moreover, picking up drunk passengers is often a major hassle. Not everyone behaves properly with us. That’s why we often refuse rides,” said Kaushik Das*, a bike taxi rider, told us. To this, Sajid Ali, an app cab driver, added, “The fare often isn’t enough to cover our running costs. So, some cabbies ask for something extra.”

NIGHT OUTS NO LONGER EXCITING: PARTY-GOERS

I usually self-drive but now, I don’t after partying at night, as the cops have tightened naka checks to curb drink driving. Now I return home in app cabs if I’m lucky to get one. Otherwise, I take a yellow cab where I have to pay extra. Night outs are not that exciting anymore.

Abhiroop Roy Chowdhury

, entrepreneur
I go to parties in my own car nowadays. Even the police are extremely vigilant at night about drink driving. I have no control over how much others drink at a party, so I prefer to pay my driver extra and travel back in my own car. Actually, night outs have become more expensive now.

Hrishita Ghosh

, college student
These days, if I plan to party, I hire a driver from a local centre. I don’t like to drive because of the constant police checking, as even light drinking may lead to major consequences. And I completely support the police as drink driving is criminal. At least some accidents can be avoided by this strictness.

Partha Seal

, design professional
I feel very safe now while partying late as the police are very vigilant about drink driving. After a party, I return home in rented cars. I party once or twice a month, so I don’t mind sharing the bill with my friends as we all earn. Safety comes first and it’s taken care of now by the police with constant checking at different points of the city.

Shrijani Mondal

, college student

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/kolkatas-nightlife-struggles-to-find-its-groove-again/articleshow/91035487.cms