On the 24-lane National Highway 44 in Karnal, which connects Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi, temporary booths have come up near the toll plaza selling Radio-Frequency Identification stickers — FASTags — which have been made mandatory for all vehicles crossing toll booths on national highways starting December 15.
The Centre pushed the initial deadline to make vehicles FASTag-enabled from December 1, but since then, say employees at these Point of Sale counters, sales have come down.
“The response from owners of private vehicles is very poor. Even though the deadline was extended, only 37% vehicles crossing this plaza are FASTag-enabled,” said Manish Kumar, manager of SOMA-Roadies Toll Plaza in Karnal.
