But there has been another important social impact as well. It has recently come to light that some families have re-united again as a result of the strict crackdown on drink-driving by Nepal police. [break]
Basanta Raj Sangroula, 46, a civil servant living in Lalitpur, had never imagined that his family would re-unite again after his wife and three daughters walked out on him 10 years ago. She slammed the door and left him because she could no tolerate the daily “torture from her drunkard husband”. At present both man and wife are happy to be reunited because the scenario is now completely different.
In the past, Basanta would drink till he dropped and arrive home late at night. His wife became ready to rejoin the family only after Basanta stopped his drinking in the face of mapase.
His family is now surprised to see him back home in time, talking seriously about the future and the education of his daughters. He also gives enough time to his elderly parents.
Police arrested Basanta several times under the drink-drive campaign and he was fined for violating the rule. “Moreover, I felt most humiliated when I was compelled to attend rehabilitation class and police officials would treat me like a school kid. I am a responsible government official but I was treated like a drunken taxi driver,” he explained. “That was the point when I vowed not to drink another drop. It was like an eye-opener for me.”
“If the drink-drive campaign had not been launched, my family would never have reunited and I wouldn´t be as happy as I am now,” DSP Pawan Giri quoted him as saying.
His youngest daughter had just turned six when his wife left him. Realizing his mistake, he requested his wife, who was working at a private company in Kathmandu and looking after their daughters, to return home. Finding improvement in his behavior, she agreed.
DSP Giri said, “Because of his stubborn habit, Sangraula, an undersecretary, had even lost standing at office and was not promoted for many years.”
“We are happy because many families like Sangraula´s are reunited. Cases of domestic violence and disputes have come down drastically as a result of the campaign,” said DIG Keshav Adhikari, chief of MPTD.
The campaign against drink-driving has averted huge loss of life and property and also contributed to the happiness and prosperity of many families, he said.
“We are yet to manage traffic congestion and improve the way traffic police behave towards the public, but we are proud of the social impact of mapase,” DIG Adhikari said.
Aakash Shrestha, 36, an architect and an inhabitant of Bishalnagar in Kathmandu, returned to Nepal with the habit of drink-driving after eight years in Australia.
Despite several attempts, his family he couldn´t get him to give up the habit. But now he has decided to change after police punched three holes in his driving lisence under mapase.
“It´s not that I have totally stopped drinking but now I choose either to drink or to drive,” Shrestha said.
Punching the driving licenses of motorists found driving while under the influence has had a sobering effect on them, said DSP Giri. According to MPTD records, about 21,654 driving licenses have been punched, including 20,021 with a single hole, 1,448 with two holes, 154 with three holes and 22 with four.
The campaign against drink-driving is ´positive harassment´. The violators face a lengthy and strict legal procedure for getting back their licenses. It has also contributed Rs 80.7 million to state coffers between December 3, 2011 and July 11, 2013 through penalization of 90,826 of them. About 20 percent of the 458 people who died in road accidents in the past three years died because of drink-driving, according to police.
“So we take family reintegrations as a major achievement along with the contribution in lowering road casualties,” MPTD chief Adhikari said.
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