FasTag facility at Bandhwari toll plaza to be started next month

Sanjay Yadav

Gurugram, August 13

In a major relief for commuters, the agency concerned may provide the FasTag facility on the Bandhwari toll plaza on the Gurugram-Faridabad Road from next month. The FasTag facility is already being tested on two of the lanes since Thursday.

However, commuters remain apprehensive about the management’s claims. They have been facing inconvenience here for a long time as cash payments were leading to long traffic jams and unnecessary delays.

Commuters remain apprehensive

Toll is being collected through FasTag at every toll plaza, except in Bandhwari. Snarl-ups are a daily affair here, especially during peak hours. I got to know that they are starting the FasTag facility, but it is being said for the last two years. — Rajesh Kumar, resident, Sanjay colony, Faridabad

The Bandhwari toll plaza is frequently crossed by people living in Gurugram, Gwal Pahari, Ghata, Bandhwari, Mangar, Pali, Surajkund and Faridabad as well as by residents of Delhi’s Chhatarpur, Mehrauli and Sultanpur areas. This road was built by the Reliance firm, and is currently under the Public Works Department (PWD).

A frequent commuter here, Nishant, who is a resident of Ghata village, said, “There is not much improvement in the situation right now, but there might be some relief after the introduction of FasTag.”

More than 50,000 vehicles pass through this toll plaza every day. There is a long queue of vehicles here from 8 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 8 pm, when it often witnesses over 10,000 vehicles.

To curb traffic jams, the toll management company has already installed the equipment to start the FasTag system. Efforts have been going on for many years to provide the facility, but the toll management firm has finally received approval from the government after a long wait of around three years.

“After the deployment of FasTag traffic marshals, traffic at the toll plaza has been smooth for the last one month. Public vehicles have not been included in the FasTag trial, which is being done on two lanes. Toll collection through FasTag will be started by the next month,” said Ashish Bhardwaj, Director, South Asian Tollways Pvt Ltd, the firm that operates the Bandhwari toll plaza.