New Delhi: Taking serious note of incidents like gangrape near a highway in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, a Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings has asked the NHAI to install CCTV cameras with adequate storage capacity at all toll plazas and vulnerable places at national highways. The panel said that incidents like gangrapes on highways only indicated that “travelling there was quite risky for the users and had to be dealt on priority”. It has also recommended the NHAI to start helpline numbers and develop mobile apps, utilise the social media to encourage public involvement and enable passengers to register their complaints with respect to poor quality of maintenance oh highways, misbehavior by toll staff at toll plazas and incidents of road rages.
The panel also asked the NHAI to take necessary steps to make public aware about such helpline numbers and mobile apps dedicated to the service of highway passengers through display boards and other mechanism installed at appropriate places. Taking note of growing security concern on highways, the panel has also recommended to consider creation of a dedicated Highway Security Force similar to the General Railway Police Force (GRP) for safeguarding the movement of National Highways. It further said that the aid of advance technologies such as geo-tagging, Global Positioning System (GPS), positioning of CCTV cameras in this direction on sensitive areas across the Highways were other steps which could enhance the efficiency of monitoring system.
The panel was also of the view that toll plazas in cities and densely populated areas results into chaotic traffic conditions causing pollution, traffic hazard and inconvenience to highway users and local population. It had asked the NHAI to examine the same and recommended shifting of such toll plazas away from such places.
