Alternative site allotted for Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, but Gurgaon doesn't expect the long queues to end anytime soon
On December 26, the Haryana govt passed over a 63-acre piece of land in Sehrawan near Manesar to the National Highway Authority of India as the other website online for the plaza. However, residents and commuters are cautious that this may well be yet any other unfulfilled promise from the authorities.
Commuters and residents who pass the Kherki Dhaula toll on a regular basis say that because the toll is stationed in the course of town, they've to pass it even whilst travelling intra-city, which results in them being caught in a jam for hours (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
NO ATTEMPT FROM AUTHORITIES TO EXPEDITE THE MOVE
Ashutosh Kashyap, a real property marketing consultant from Sector 82, says, "Since I have been a part of the real estate circle, I have been hearing these developments in one form or another for 2-3 years now. But the truth is that the toll still stands. There has been no intent from the authorities to expedite the move. They have been working like a slow-moving elephant, not understanding the urgency of our demand."
While the authorities say that they have began work on that front, commuters say that the jams on the plaza are becoming worse by means of the day. Sector 82 resident Gaurav Agarwal tells us, "Though the land has been allotted at an alternate site, it will still take time to move the plaza there. Till then, we have to deal with the daily jams. What is really bad is that the sectors close to Kherki Daula only have the highway as the main approach road. All the people living here have no option but to use the toll road as soon as they drive out. The residents of 31 villages in this area are exempt from paying the toll but we aren't. I even filed an RTI last month to find out why it was so but haven't received a response so far. For now, I have to get stuck in a half-hour jam every single day at the toll while I drive to work."
MISSED FLIGHTS, WORK MEETINGS AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
What separates the Kherki Daula toll plaza from others in NCR is this one is in the course of town, whilst others most commonly attach two towns or cities. Residents say that which means using to brief intra-cities distances requires crossing the toll. Amit Malaviya, a content developer who lives in Sector 83, says, "My five-year-old daughter had high fever once and we had to rush her to a hospital. Unfortunately, all the good hospitals are on the other side of the toll. The queue at the toll was over half a kilometre and it took us about 25 minutes from there to reach the hospital. Thankfully, she recovered, but it was a real scare for us then. The lanes are free for ambulances but what if someone with a medical emergency is in a car? Having a toll plaza dividing the city like this, depriving residents' access to basic amenities, is just cruel."
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
Residents from the realm recount quite a lot of neglected flights, work appointments that had to be rescheduled, and even clinical emergencies through which they were caught on the toll. What irks the commuters probably the most is the regularity of jams. Sector 86 resident Vinod Bindal says that a part of the explanation why he needed to quit his activity used to be the time he spent caught in jam on the toll. "I used to work in Microsoft and every now and then, I would get stuck at the toll plaza and miss important work meetings. I eventually quit and this was one of the reasons. I couldn't sustain working like that. I have my own company now but this problem of missing work appointments due to the toll hasn't gone away. I hope that this changes in 2018 and the plaza is shifted soon," he says. Mohit Khanduja from Sector 83 recounts an incident when his sister neglected crucial flight as their automobile were given caught on the toll. He says, "My sister had to catch a 2.15pm flight to Vadodara and we reached the toll around noon. It should take 40 minutes to reach the airport from there but at 1pm, we were still at the toll."
CABBIES' UNWILLINGNESS TO CROSS THE TOLL AT NIGHT MAKES PEOPLE STOP GOING OUT
The toll plaza has been in place for a couple of years now and the jams have been not unusual too. However, in the previous couple of weeks, the regularity of the jams has increased and the queues have began to get longer. Commuters say this is because a couple of lanes on the plaza are closed for some building. "Ever since they started some construction on the Fast Tag lanes, trucks also get diverted to the car lanes. My office is 5km from my house but still I spend two hours driving to and fro every day. I missed a movie last week because I was stuck at the toll. One can't make any last-minute plans. I am hopeful that all this will be over soon now with the government finally acting to move the toll away," says Piyusha Singhal, a Sector 84 resident.
The trouble exists not just for those who force themselves however those looking for cabs at abnormal instances say that they have been stranded for lengthy as none of the app-based cab operators want to pass the toll plaza. Vinay Kumar, a Sector 83 resident who works in gross sales, says, "Even cab operators aren't willing to come here because not only do they get stuck in the jam but they also have to pay toll from their pocket, the cabbies say. I need to catch morning flights frequently and since there are no cabs available or willing to take me to the airport, I have had to book private drivers or cab operators who charge exorbitant amounts. But what other option do I have?"
