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Coronavirus lockdown: Collection suspended at all toll plazas across India

In a series of tweets, roads minister Nitin Gadkari said, "In view of Covid-19, it has been ordered to temporarily suspend the collection of toll at all toll plaza across India. This will not only reduce inconvenience to the supply of emergency services but also save critical time."

March 27, 2020 / 12:07 IST
File image: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

The collection of toll at all toll plazas across India has been temporarily suspended, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari informed through Twitter.

In a series of tweets, Gadkari said that the move would “reduce inconvenience to the supply of emergency services” and also “save critical time”.

Coronavirus India LIVE Updates

This tweet comes after the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has asked the road transport and highways ministry whether it should continue with collecting toll after a sharp drop in traffic triggered by the outbreak of the coronavirus, people familiar with the matter earlier told Moneycontrol.

Also Read: India likely to unveil $20 billion-plus stimulus package to tackle coronavirus downturn

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According to NHAI data, toll collections through the electronic payment system FASTags, which account for 70 percent of the total collections, dropped by 50 percent in the past week. The total number of toll transactions also reduced by more than half.

Faizan Javed
first published: Mar 26, 2020 08:21 am

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