Faridabad, Gurugram residents demand closure of Bandhwari toll plaza

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, July 17

Daily commuters travelling between Faridabad and Gurugram have raised their concerns over the continuation of the Bandhwari toll plaza on the state highway between the two cities. Supervised by the state Public Works Department (PWD), the operations will continue at the plaza till May, 2026.

A spokesperson of a social media group, which advocates for the discontinuation of the plaza, said the operations at the plaza had not been shut despite an announcement having been made by the state government last year regarding its closure. The agency handling the functioning of the plaza had recently increased the toll charges up to 33 per cent.

Ankit Gupta, a vexed commuter, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and said, “We have to daily face chaos at the Faridabad-Gurugram toll plaza despite paying up to Rs 60 (both ways) and getting stuck in the jam that could extend to 3 km.” Tagging Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, he appealed to him to ensure that the operations were discontinued at the plaza.

Anuroop Sehgal, another commuter, described it as a major hindrance for those travelling between Faridabad and Gurugram. He said they had had to daily wait in huge traffic jams. In addition, the commuters were forced to pay heavily as they had to spend over 90 minutes to cover the 30-km stretch between the two cities, he added.

Ujjawal Rawat, another commuter, said the people were paying to use a road which did not even have functional streetlights and was prone to a large number of accidents. The delay in the implementation of the FASTag system had made it worse for the commuters, he added.

“Though the Bandhwari plaxa was among the list of toll plazas that were announced to be closed in December 2023, its continuation had left the commuters high and dry,” claims Varun Sheokand, another resident. Instead of closing it down, the agency concerned had increased the toll charges up to 33 percent, he added.

PWD XEN Charandeep Rana said the Fast Tag system at the plaza was expected to be shortly introduced as the administrative approval had already been accorded for it.