Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Feb 17: FASTag has been made mandatory from Monday midnight. Owners and drivers of several vehicles who were asked to pay double the charges for failure to display FASTag stickers in their vehicles, got angry and argued with the tollgate staff at many places.

FASTag system was introduced over a year back. Still, only about 60 percent of vehicles have complied with the FASTag compulsory requirement. The others have not yet changed to the system of having FASTag.

Representational image

National Highways Authority of India had planned to make FASTag compulsory from January 1 this year but had extended the date. Vehicle owners and drivers who remained unaware of the new rule, fought with the toll gate staff right from Monday morning, after learning that they have to pay double the normal charges. Verbal frictions and queues to purchase FASTag stickers were common in almost all the toll gates. As there was a high density of vehicles at the tollgates, vehicles had to wait longer.

In almost all the gates, only one gate was reserved for non-FASTag vehicles where cash is collected. On Tuesday, this counter experienced the highest rush. In an incident reported from Nelamangala tollgate, a passenger who lost his patience after waiting for long, removed the tollgate stick and allowed the vehicles to move ahead.

Some drivers said that FASTag could have been made compulsory after attending to various lacunae associated with the system. They felt that the authorities should have concentrated on streamlining the system and rectifying the errors before making FASTag compulsory.

In many toll gates, the locals, who were given free passage so far, were made to pay toll charges. The staff told them that they have to move only in service roads and if they use highway, they are bound to pay toll charges. On this issue, heated words were exchanged at many places.

Regional officer of the National Highways Authority of India, R K Sooryavamshi, said that the number of those who have acquired FASTag has gone up to 70 percent since a week. He said that there are 45 tollgates in Karnataka where 488 lanes are functional. He said that if all the people acquire FASTag, vehicles can travel without the need to wait at the gates.

He revealed that two kinds of FASTag are being issued now. One of them involves maintenance of a minimum balance of Rs 250 in the account. The other is by paying Rs 100 to buy National Highways Maintenance Company Ltd stickers.