
FASTag: Response from private vehicle owners poor, say officials at Karnal toll plaza
On the 24-lane National Highway 44 in Karnal, which connects Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi, temporary booths have come up near the toll plaza selling Radio-Frequency Identification stickers — FASTags — which have been made mandatory for all vehicles crossing toll booths on national highways starting December 15.
The Centre pushed the initial deadline to make vehicles FASTag-enabled from December 1, but since then, say employees at these Point of Sale counters, sales have come down.
“The response from owners of private vehicles is very poor. Even though the deadline was extended, only 37% vehicles crossing this plaza are FASTag-enabled,” said Manish Kumar, manager of SOMA-Roadies Toll Plaza in Karnal.
On December 12, nearly 60% of the vehicles that used the toll plaza did not have FASTags, he said.
“As per government directions, out of 12 lanes on one side, only one lane will be reserved for vehicles without FASTags, but we feel it will be impossible for us to ensure movement of 60% of the vehicles through one lane after December 15,” he added.
However, they have their eye on the big picture: FASTags will reduce the time of toll collection from 30 seconds to three. It will also help avoid scuffles with toll officials and security guards. FASTag will also bring transparency in toll collection and help the government monitor collection. In a toll plaza as large as Karnal’s, more than 40,000 vehicles cross every day and daily collection comes to around Rs 40 lakh.
The drivers, on the other hand, have a mixed response. “Every day we spend one to two hours in queues at toll plazas, but FASTags will save our time and cut fuel expenses,” says Ganesh Singh, owner of a truck from Rohtak.
Prince Kumar of Delhi said the government made the decision without doing its homework.
“Most of the people in our country do not keep money in their bank accounts, so how they will maintain minimum balance in FASTag wallets? This decision has created problems for people instead of providing relief,” he said. The government should have ensured that FASTags are sent to people at their doorsteps instead of them standing in queues, he said.
Gurdip Singh of Ludhiana faced a technical snag. “At Murthal toll plaza on NH 44, the scanner malfunctioned, due to which my vehicle was stopped.”

‘Pay for news’: Indian Newspaper Society in a letter to Google

Car with explosives found near Mukesh Ambani’s residence

BJP has stopped entry of illegal immigrants, says Amit Shah in Assam

Farm unions, traders to join Bharat Bandh today

Officials targeted in new phishing bid via govt IDs

Tandav controversy: Amazon Prime executive’s bail plea rejected by Allahabad HC

5 dead, 19 injured in blast at firecracker factory near Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi
- Fire engines and rescue teams were pressed into service and the injured are being treated at the Sivakasi government hospital.

CM Yediyurappa, the recalcitrant conformist, turns 78
- A Bengaluru-based political analyst said that Yediyurappa's supporters may want to go in for low-key birthday celebrations even though detractors may post as many ads as possible to remind everyone of his age.

Huge whale shark washes up on Odisha coast; locals push it back into the sea
- Officials said some local youths spotted the big fish lying lifeless on the Sonapur coast on Thursday afternoon.

Earthquake of 3.6 magnitude jolts Assam's Guwahati

Bhubaneswar records maximum day temperature pan-India for 2nd consecutive day
- Officials in Bhubaneswar's Regional Meteorological Centre said the maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday too was highest on that day.

'Infrastructural marvel' Chenab bridge completes important milestone

MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan urges people to avoid travelling to Maharashtra
- In MP, the positivity rate increased to 2.3% on Thursday and there are 2,435 active cases in the state.

'375 mn Indian children may suffer due to Covid-19 pandemic': CSE report
- CSE’s director general Sunita Narian said Covid-19 had made the world’s poor poorer.
