Panchkula: Long queues of vehicles and traffic jams at Chandimandir toll plaza on the Zirakpur–Parwanoo stretch of National Highway 5 have been causing inconvenience to locals and tourists heading to hill stations such as Kasauli and Shimla.Commuters have cited slow toll collection, failed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, inadequate staffing and insufficient arrangements for emergency vehicles as reasons for the congestion. During peak hours, commuters often spend 30 minutes to an hour crossing the toll plaza, with jams reported on both weekdays and weekends.Established in 2012, the toll plaza earlier handled around 30,000 to 35,000 vehicles daily. The number has now increased to about 50,000.“This is becoming one of the major traffic congestion points on this highway. When people are paying for the roads, the facility for toll collection should be improved and more steps should be taken to fix persistent issues,” said Mahender Kumar, a Pinjore resident.Local residents have also reported difficulties in renewing concessional passes. “The passes, which were earlier issued for one year, are now being issued for only three months. The facility for automatic deduction of the monthly pass fee from FASTag balances and online payment for pass renewal has also reportedly been discontinued, forcing residents to visit the toll plaza in person,” said Vijay Bansal, a resident and president of Shivalik Vikas Manch.Bansal said vehicles with insufficient FASTag balances had to make UPI payments after cash collection was stopped on April 1. However, poor mobile network connectivity allegedly results in failed transactions, holding up entire lanes.He also flagged FASTag reading failures, inadequate staff and non-functional or insufficient lanes. He demanded handheld FASTag readers and a separate lane for vehicles facing payment difficulties. He also sought a prescribed service time of 10 seconds per vehicle during peak hours and passage without payment when queues extend beyond the marked 100-metre line.Bansal has served a legal notice on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the deputy commissioner of police (Traffic). The NHAI is yet to reply.DCP (Crime-Traffic) Amrinder Singh, in his response to the notice, said police intervene as required to regulate traffic and clear congestion caused by FASTag-related technical issues, rush hours or other reasons. He added that police personnel also respond to quarrels, altercations or law-and-order situations between drivers and toll plaza staff and take appropriate action.
