Demonetisation: People crossing toll plazas inconvenienced due to lack of change

People were highly inconvenienced while crossing toll plazas on the National Highways on the first day on Saturday when tax was collected after demonetisation was announced.

Tax at toll plazas have not been collected for the past 22 days as the Centre had decided not to take cash due to the crisis of valid notes.

Even after the tax collection resumed on Saturday, the vehicle owners were inconvenienced while paying the tax at different toll plazas as the employees of the toll plazas failed to give changes to high value currency notes. Chaos broke out at various places as the toll plaza employees were demanding changes while the vehicle owners failed to provide it.

The National Highway Authorities have announced that transactions could be made through debit and credit cards. To mitigate the crisis of change, prepaid toll tag system has been introduced. The NHAI has been issuing smart cards to the people, the payment of which can be made on cash or through debit or credit cards.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Sobhandeb Chatterjee along with other leaders on Saturday staged demonstration at Palsit toll plaza.

People had no respite, despite of the cashless system introduced at the toll plazas. One can take a smart card of Rs 2,000 or Rs 1,000 and the same can be used whenever the vehicle passes through a toll plaza. The tax gets deducted from the amount in the card whenever it passes from a particular toll plaza. There is a dedicated lane in each of the toll plazas through which such card holders can pass. Even one can swipe his or her debit or credit card to pay toll tax.

But it was not of much help on the first day itself as most people were carrying Rs 2,000 notes. It landed the employees of the toll plazas in trouble as they failed to give change after a few hours and it led to scuffle between the toll plaza employees and drivers.