Hyderabad: A large number of vehicles were stuck at toll plazas resulting in long traffic jams on highways in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday after the staff refused to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination notes.
Normalcy was restored by evening following the Union transport ministry suspending collection of toll to ensure free flow of traffic. The payment of toll would be suspended till the midnight of November 11.
Mr Sreedhar Reddy, incharge at GMR toll plaza at Panthangi in Nalgonda district on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway, said they opened all the toll gates in the evening after receiving a copy of the Centre’s directions.
Before that, tension prevailed at toll plazas located near Pantangi, Nakrekal, Chillakallu, Shadnagar, Kaza, Gudur, Itchapuram, Keesara to Vijayawada, Kalaparru, Atkur, Khaza connecting Telangana and AP to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Most motorists produced either Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 currency notes and the staff at the toll plaza refused to accept them. Local police had to intervene to calm tempers.
