Watch: Why Assam Chief Minister Was Patrolling Streets On New Year's Eve

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma spent the New Year 's Eve patrolling the streets of Guwahati to keep a check on drunken driving cases.

Last night, the chief minister was seen accompanying traffic police officials while checking vehicles as part of a campaign to ensure zero drunken driving deaths in the state. The campaign was successful as no drunken driving deaths were reported overnight.

The last night of 2021 @himantabiswa was out on Guwahati Street, standing shoulder to shoulder with traffic cops, checking checking for drunken driving as a part of a massive drive by his govt - Result ZERO drunken driving accident deaths last night,on 31st Dec 2020 - 29 DEATHS pic.twitter.com/iHK9OXrQrq

— Ratnadip Choudhury (@RatnadipC) January 1, 2022

"Was on the streets of Guwahati throughout the night. Humbled to see the overwhelming response to our appeal to make 31st Dec an accident-free night. Kudos to @GuwahatiPol for doing their best. Let's continue our effort to make each day and every night of 2022 accident free," said Mr Sarma in a tweet.

Was on the streets of Guwahati throughout the night.

Humbled to see the overwhelming response to our appeal to make 31st Dec an accident-free night. Kudos to @GuwahatiPol for doing their best.

Let's continue our effort to make each day and every night of 2022 accident free. pic.twitter.com/T4L0c0WRRz

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 31, 2021

In a video shot from inside a car, he was seen monitoring the campaign along with the traffic police officials.

Mr Sarma, who was seen without a mask in photos shared by him and other videos, was greeted by people as "mama" (as he popularly called by the youth in Assam) from inside the car as they told him they were happy with the initiative.

The Assam government had set a target of ensuring zero deaths due to drunken driving on December 31, and achieved it with zero such fatalities being reported last night. The drive assumes significance as the state had seen 29 drunken driving deaths during the New Year's Eve last year.

Till November 30 last year, 2,756 people have died in 6,745 road accidents, 5,252 were injured. Between 2018 and 2020, Assam saw 23,191 road accidents that claimed 8,803 lives. About 56 per cent of victims were in the age group of 18-35 years. Of all accidents, 6,149 involved two-wheelers. About 75 per cent of accidents happened due to over-speeding related to drunken driving.

In December alone, Rs 4 crore revenue was collected from traffic rule violators in Guwahati.