Long queues become routine but still toll being charged
*Mandatory yellow lines at 100 meters distance missing
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 19: Much to the disappointment and inconvenience of daily commuters, tourists and pilgrims, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines on waiting time of vehicles are being blatantly violated at Ban Toll Plaza where personnel engaged by the service provider even use force to collect toll if someone dares to raise voice against their ‘illegal act’.
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In order to ensure minimal waiting time at the Toll Plazas, National Highways Authority of India, on May 26, 2021, issued guidelines to ensure service time of not more than 10 seconds per vehicle even at peak hours at the Toll Plazas on the National Highways. It was also mentioned by the NHAI that the new set of guidelines will also ensure seamless flow of traffic at the Toll Plazas by not allowing vehicles to queue up more than 100 meters.
“Although in most of the Toll Plazas, there is no waiting time after mandatory 100% FASTag, even then if there is queue of waiting vehicles of more than 100 meters due to some reason, the vehicles will be allowed to pass without paying toll till the queue comes within 100 meters from the toll booth. For this purpose, a yellow line at a distance of 100 meters from toll booth will be marked in each toll lane. This will inculcate further sense of accountability in Toll Plaza operators”, the guidelines stated.
However, these guidelines are being blatantly violated at Ban Toll Plaza near Nagrota on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Long queues of vehicles even beyond 100 meters have become a routine at this Toll Plaza but still the vehicle operators are being forced to pay toll.
“The personnel engaged by the service provider even resort to abusive language whenever anybody raises questions about not implementing the guidelines of NHAI”, a number of commuters told EXCELSIOR on telephone. Even this Correspondent himself witnessed non-adherence to the guidelines a number of times while crossing the Toll Plaza.
What to talk of implementing the guidelines vis-à-vis queues within 100 meters even the mandatory yellow line in each toll lane on both sides of Toll Plaza has not been marked just to avoid questioning from the commuters.
As per the guidelines of NHAI, the cameras should of such a quality that they instantly read the FASTag so as to avoid stranding of vehicles but at Ban Toll Plaza the operators mostly use hand-held cameras to read the FASTag, which consumes much time in violation of NHAI guidelines.
Keeping in view increasing number of altercations and violent incidents at Toll Plazas between commuters and manpower engaged by the service provider, the NHAI last year issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) making it mandatory for the supervisors at Toll Plazas to wear body cameras. But this SOP is also being violated at Ban Toll Plaza as supervisors don’t wear the cameras just to avoid their misbehavior from getting recorded.
“While NHAI values the time of commuters and committed to provide them safe, smooth and seamless journey on National Highways, the operators at Ban Toll Plaza create one or the other problem for the daily commuters, tourists and pilgrims by not adhering to the guidelines and SOP”, people said, adding “the FASTag as a toll payment option is being used by almost 100% commuters these days to nullify the chances of human contact with the toll operators but the complete mismanagement at Ban Toll Plaza has become a nuisance for the commuters”.
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