Bhubaneswar: The private contractors hired by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to collect toll at Pipli are in no mood to go digital and are insisting on cash payments.
Two months after Cyclone Fani which hit the Puri district, the toll plaza en route to Puri from Bhubaneswar is still refusing digital payments.
The toll collecting personnel are refusing the public the option of using the Fastags on their vehicles to automatically deduct payments.
Fastags are pre-paid toll tax sensor stickers pasted on vehicles by the users to digitally deduct the toll amount automatically. But toll plaza personnel have been forcing passengers to pay only in cash even though electricity supply and mobile phone services have been restored in the area.
Many people who wanted to take part in Rath Yatra complained of non-functioning digital payment machines at the toll plaza.
“Despite having toll pre-payments in our accounts, the toll plaza is creating trouble for us by forcing us to pay in cash. This increases our halting time and also defeats the purpose of having a fastag. The plaza has written tag lane at two places, but they are misleading,” Anupurana Patnaik, a resident of Bhubaneswar said.
When asked, an official of the toll plaza requesting anonymity said, “This is because of Fani. Two months back some of our equipment was damaged. We are still unable to resume its services.”
The NHAI Thursday clarified that it has not granted toll exemption for any vehicle due to the Puri Rath Yatra. This comes after the non-exemption of motorists during the Fani, when despite requests from the cash-strapped public of Bhubaneswar, they were asked to pay only in cash at the toll plaza.
In such cases the NHAI shrugs off responsibility saying that toll plazas are managed by private contractors who win contracts through bidding.
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