Queues go missing at toll plazas

The TNRDC had removed the boom barrier to allow vehicles to go past without paying user fees while the NHAI toll plazas collected the user fees from those few vehicles that plied.

TNRDC currently has 11 plazas on the East Coast Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai. “At Perungudi toll plaza on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, there was no usual queuing up of vehicles. The boom barriers too were removed,” said Raghunathan of Thoraipakkam.

A senior TNRDC official said with ‘Janata curfew’ in place, instructions were given not to collect user fees as there won’t be much vehicle movement. “It’s also meant to ensure the safety of the workers at the toll plaza,” the official said.

On a normal day Rajiv Gandhi Salai sees over one lakh vehicles, ECR around 10,000 and Phase I of CORR nearly 36,000 vehicles.

A senior NHAI official said they were collecting the user fee from the vehicles going past its toll plazas.

The NHAI has 48 toll plaza across the state. “However, with the police present at every toll plaza, essential service vehicles were allowed to pass while non-essential vehicles were advised against unwanted trips,” said the official adding as a precautionary measure, concessionaires were instructed to provide safety gears like masks and gloves to those manning the toll lanes across the plazas in the State. “The toll booths are being regularly cleaned using disinfectants,” he said.