Vehicles without FASTAGS take a toll on traffic at Karnal plaza
KARNAL: Two days after the FASTAG implementation, several private and commercial vehicles without it piled up in the lanes reserved for cash payment at the Karnal toll plaza on the national highway 44 on Tuesday.
Vehicles without the FASTAG were also seen moving into the dedicated lanes reserved for those with FASTAGS, thereby creating problems for the staff to regulate the traffic flow. On the other hand, traffic movement on the FASTAG enabled lanes was smooth.
People stuck in traffic jams could be heard slamming the Union government’s decision of making FASTAGS mandatory without doing their home work and not giving enough time for people to get Radio-frequency Identification stickers installed, which can be used to make electronic payment automatically at the toll plaza.
“It took us more than 20 minutes to cross the toll plaza as we don’t have FASTAGS yet,” said Chander Prakash, a truck driver from Delhi.
Praveen Kumar, a resident of
Karnal, said, “I had applied for the FASTAG online and have not got it yet. We had to spend 20 to 30 minutes in the lane despite the fact that we are paying the toll.”
Officials at the toll plaza said 50% of the 24-lanes at the toll plaza are reserved for vehicles without FASTAGS, following government orders. However, they claimed that people were not showing interest in purchasing FASTAGS.
“As of now around 60% vehicles have been crossing the toll without FASTAGS,” said Manish Kumar, manager of Somaroadies Toll Plaza in Karnal.
With 40,000 vehicles crossing the toll plaza everyday, 50% lanes reserved for cash payments are insufficient for passage of vehicles without FASTAGS. Officials at the toll plaza said people will not purchase FASTAGS until they face problems and traffic jams.