VIJAYAWADA: Hundreds of vehicles heading towards Vijayawada, twin Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts from Hyderabad were stranded near the Keesara Toll Plaza on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway on Saturday.
Right from dawn, several families from Hyderabad headed towards various districts in Andhra Pradesh for the festive season. It may be recalled that the Centre had made FASTag mandatory for all four-wheelers and non-transport vehicles from January 1. However, due to various reasons, the deadline has been extended to February 1.
Despite the orders, several owners of four-wheelers did not get FASTags for their vehicles. Four-wheelers, in large numbers, had to wait in cash lanes at toll plazas at Keesara and Chillakallu. Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and toll booth operators noted that traffic would increase in the coming days.
NHAI project director DV Narayana said during normal days, vehicular traffic between Hyderabad and Vijayawada would be around 3,000 to 4,000 per day. However, during festival season, the vehicles may increase to around 15,000 to 18,000 per day.
“We are making all arrangements to ease traffic congestion near the four toll plazas in the district, by arranging additional lanes. This apart, banks have also set up temporary kiosks for providing FASTags to vehicles,” he said, and called upon the vehicle owners to make use of the opportunity.