State Wants Centre to Waive Toll Fee on Hyd–Vijayawada Highway for Sankranti

Hyderabad: The state government on Tuesday initiated measures for ensuring hassle-free travel for lakhs of commuters heading home for Sankranti from Hyderabad to Vijayawada by drawing up a comprehensive traffic management plan.

Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy urged the Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari to exempt toll collection from people travelling between two cities between January 9 to 18.

Following the instructions from Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the R&B minister chaired a high-level review meeting with officials from R&B department, NHAI, MoRTH, police and district administrations of Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri, Nalgonda and Suryapet at Secretariat. It was decided that the yearly inconvenience being faced by the festival-goers should be brought to an end this time.

“About 10 lakh private vehicles, apart from private buses, take this route during the festival season. If necessary, I will personally meet the Union minister. The state is ready to bear nominal payments at toll plazas to facilitate free flow of traffic. Each year there is a situation where you can see 20-km-long traffic congestion, as most vehicles do not have Fastag,” the minister said in a video statement.

The matter was also brought to the Union minister’s notice through a formal letter.

With vehicular movement expected to cross one lakh vehicles a day from January 8, the minister instructed all departments to remain on full alert three days before and three days after Sankranti.

Heavy vehicle movement will be restricted during peak days, and no lane closures or major road works will be permitted during the festival rush. All ongoing works on highways must be confined to night hours, while construction material, debris and machinery are to be cleared completely before the festive rush begins. All lanes on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada Highway must remain open, he said, stressing that traffic should not be allowed to halt at any point.

A dedicated incident management control room will function round the clock, with 108 ambulances, medical teams, cranes and route patrol vehicles on standby. Clear signages, reflective boards, barricades and adequate lighting at junctions and work zones have been made mandatory.

Additional traffic police personnel will be deployed at critical junctions and toll plazas to ensure uninterrupted movement. “We have asked the DGP to deploy some 2,000 constables to reduce any inconvenience on the stretch. The department which will be holding a meeting on the matter will come up with a decision in this endeavour,” the minister said.

Venkat Reddy said he would personally inspect traffic conditions on a motorcycle, beginning with Toopranpet and Abdullapurmet, and closely monitor congestion-prone stretches such as LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram, Hayathnagar, Panama Godown and the Ramoji Film City.

Officials were directed to immediately address long-pending traffic issues at Choutuppal, Narketpally, Kattangur, Peddakaparthy, Gundrampally and Tekumatla, remove road encroachments and complete patch works without delay.