Toll-free ride on Ganga e-way till May 13, announces CM

Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced that commuters taking Ganga Expressway will not have to pay any user charge for the first 15 days. The exemption will be effective until May 13.The 594-km-long expressway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj was thrown open on April 29.The objective is to increase ridership on the carriageway by allowing vehicle owners to experience the smooth ride during the initial few days of its opening. UPEIDA has fixed a Rs 1,800 one-way toll, but a final figure will be announced after May 13 by the two developers.Acting on the CM’s direction, the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority directed concessionaires (IRB Infrastructure and Adani Infrastructure) to defer toll collection on the Ganga Expressway for a period of 15 days on Friday.Additional chief executive officer of the authority, Sri Hari Pratap Shahi, said, “The four toll management companies have been asked to continue with the maintenance and operations as prescribed in the concession agreement during the said period.”The state is going to compensate the construction companies by covering the expenses once the deferment period gets over.The expressway was developed within a span of three and a half years under the public-private partnership model.The concessionaires have a right to collect the user fees for the next 27 years, added Shahi.Meanwhile, close to 4,000 four-wheeler owners hit the carriageway during the 24-hour period to commute between the two ends (Meerut to Prayagraj and vice versa) from the time the toll collection companies commenced their operations.And over the first package (Meerut to Budaun stretch spanning 130 km), close to 8,000 motor vehicles used the expressway in the same period.Barrier-less tolling system: Those entering or exiting the Ganga Expressway in Meerut are going to experience a barrier-less system, a multilane free-flow tolling system that does not require a motorist to slow down or halt at the toll collection plaza. Divided into four packages (Meerut to Budaun, Budaun to Hardoi, Hardoi to Unnao and Unnao to Prayagraj), a motorist would pass through four gantries that have been set up to collect the user charges over the 594-km-long expressway.The first one is going to be a man-less and barrier-less gantry equipped with number plate recognition cameras and advanced FASTag scanners in Meerut, which would not require stopping or slowing down.However, the remaining three situated on the main carriageway in Budaun, Unnao and Prayagraj are going to be conventional toll plazas with modern features and design elements.Similarly, the advanced FASTag readers would have primary and secondary systems to detect registration numbers, classification of the vehicle as well as the number of axles the vehicle is supposed to have.“At times, commercial and heavy vehicle owners fraudulently use the tag of a private car or some other kind of vehicle to avoid paying the additional charges at the toll plaza. The system installed over the main carriageway and the 19 exit ramps are sensitive to detect such frauds,” said an officer.