Coronavirus Outbreak: NHAI to resume toll collection on national highways from 20 April; transporters' body AIMTC opposes move

-

New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will resume toll collection on national highways from 20 April, as per a government communication, a move which is being opposed by the transport fraternity.

Follow LIVE updates on Coronavirus Outbreak here

The government had on 25 March announced temporarily suspending toll collection on national highways to ease emergency services in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Representational image. Overdrive.in

“In view of the relaxations provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the interstate and intrastate movement of all trucks and other goods/carrier vehicles ...NHAI should take actions necessary for compliance of the orders of Ministry of Home Affairs ... and tolling operations be resumed WEF 20 of April 2020,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a letter to NHAI.

Replying to communication from NHAI, the ministry said the authority in letters dated 11 April and 14 April had highlighted reasons for resuming the collection of user fee on national highways, saying that the Ministry of Home Affairs has allowed a lot of activities with effect from 20 April, including commercial and private establishments and construction work.

“It has been further highlighted that user fee collection contributes to the government exchequer and also provides financial strength to NHAI in terms of budgetary support,” the letter mentioned.

However, transporters’ apex body All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has opposed the move.

“This is appallingly preposterous. On one hand, the government wants the continuity of essential supplies and which our fraternity is doing against all odds and at even loss, in service of the nation,” it said.

AIMTC represents about 95 lakh truckers and transport entities.

Its President Kultaran Singh Atwal said: “The entire transport fraternity is financially broke and does not have finance for operations and bringing back drivers either, which is another big challenge. Yet the government instead of extending this sector a helping hand by giving a bare minimum rescue package, submitted by AIMTC, it is burdening it with toll charges that account for 20 percent of the operating costs.”

Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) Coordinator SP Singh in the past 21 days the benefit of toll fee not being levied was hardly being passed on in form of any reduction in truck rentals across the country.

“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 has announced on 25 March.

This will not only reduce inconvenience to emergency services but also save critical time, he has said.

The minister has said maintenance of roads and availability of emergency resources at toll plazas will continue as usual.

Earlier, the road transport and highways ministry had advised the NHAI to follow the home ministry’s guidelines about toll plaza operations following the lockdown.

The prevailing condition may be treated as “Force Majeure” of concession or contract agreement in terms of the finance ministry, it had said.

The NHAI had rolled out the electronic toll collection programme across India in December on its over 500 toll plazas while doubling toll charges from the vehicles entering FASTag lanes without the tag.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2VjS8Ny
Press Trust of India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more