Durban - More than 70 people have been arrested for drunken driving and a beachfront hawker’s permit was revoked after he was caught selling liquor over the weekend.
The arrests came as law enforcement officers intensify stop-and-search operations along the beachfront to enforce by-laws and prevent alcohol consumption in public.
Metro police spokesperson senior superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said more than 70 drivers had been arrested for drunken driving on Friday.
He said most people were well behaved, but a few had carried liquor in cooler bags to the beach.
The liquor was confiscated and returned once they left.
“We also had a hawker with a trolley selling liquor.
“His permit has been revoked. He was charged and he won’t be selling for the rest of the festive season.”
The Park and Ride system was working well, but Sewpersad warned that the old drive-in area was not a camping site, but a drop-off zone.
Mayoral spokesperson Mluleki Mntungwa said only minor incidents of drinking and being drunk in public were reported over the weekend on the beaches.
Festive Season Management Committee acting chairperson Malcolm Canham said Saturday was quiet on the beaches despite the heat.
He expected many locals to be away from the city this week because of Christmas, and only holidaymakers to visit the beaches.
Mntungwa urged drivers to avoid drinking and driving, adding that law-enforcement operations would run beyond the festive season.
“We’re also implementing tough traffic management controls to ensure there is no congestion around malls.”
Mntungwa advised motorists to be patient with one another and to co-operate with metro police when they were conducting operations.
Meanwhile, the Ugu District Municipality has temporarily closed its lagoons and rivers for recreational use due to E.coli contamination.
The municipality said the lagoons and rivers were closed for swimming, fishing and other water sport activities.
In the meantime, the municipality’s environmental specialists would intensify the sampling of water in swimming areas on beaches and in lagoons to monitor quality in accordance with the SA Water Quality Guidelines for Coastal Marine Waters.
The municipality said the areas would only be reopened for public use once its teams had certified that the water was safe.
On Monday Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula released the 2019 festive season mid-term statistics on road accident fatalities.
Mbalula said all provinces recorded a reduction in fatalities, with Gauteng reducing fatalities from 133 last year to 95, KwaZulu-Natal went down from 172 to 135, Western Cape from 85 to 54, Eastern Cape from 102 to 81, Free State from 80 to 56, Mpumalanga from 83 to 40, North West from 60 to 36, Limpopo from 94 to 73 and Northern Cape from 29 to 16.