The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has suspended toll collection at all toll plazas in the country in view of a national lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak , reports India Today.
The decision has been taken to ease emergency services in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
“In view of Covid-19, it has been ordered to temporarily suspend the collection of toll at all toll plazas across India,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced.
This will not only reduce inconvenience to emergency services but also save critical time, he said.
He further added, “Maintenance of roads and availability of emergency resources at toll plaza will continue as usual.”
It should be noted that earlier National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had asked MoRTH whether it should continue with collecting toll after a sharp drop in traffic triggered by Covid-19.
As per reports, 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.