Ganga Expressway raises hopes of increase in tourist footfall at religious and heritage sites on the route

Lucknow: Car owners traveling between Meerut and Prayagraj or vice versa via the 594-km-long Ganga Expressway will have to pay a toll of Rs 1,800 for a single journey.The Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) on Wednesday announced the toll for motor vehicles soon after the expressway was opened to the public. The toll for two-wheelers, three-wheelers and tractors will be Rs 905, while mini buses and commercial vehicles will have to pay Rs 2,840 for a single journey.Buses and trucks, heavy construction machinery and earth moving vehicles will be charged Rs 5,720 and Rs 8,760 respectively, while vehicles with seven or more axles (heavy haulers, trailers, heavy cranes or earth movers) will have to pay the highest user charge of Rs 11,265 for a single journey.Commuters returning within 24 hours via the Ganga Expressway will have to pay a slightly lower fare as private toll companies appointed to collect the toll have been asked to deduct 80% of the actual round-trip charge (a car owner will be asked to pay around Rs 2,880 instead of Rs 3,600, and a two-wheeler rider will have to pay Rs 1,448 for a return journey instead of Rs 1,810). Similar tariff will be applicable on other categories of motor vehicles also.The six-lane Ganga Expressway will connect 12 UP districts between Western, Central and Eastern UP. Commissioned within a period of three years and three months under the public-private partnership model with a budget of Rs 36,230 crore, the expressway has been divided into four packages – the first 129.70 km stretch was developed by IRB Infrastructure, while the remaining three sections 151.70 km, 155.70 km and 156.8 km were constructed by Adani Road Transport Limited (a unit of Adani Road Transport Limited). Adani Enterprises Limited).Currently, passengers traveling from Meerut to Prayagraj via Aligarh, Etah, Kanpur and Fatehpur take an average of 11 to 13 hours to cover the distance of 700 km. With the option to travel safely at a maximum speed of 120 km an hour, the travel time will now be reduced to six to seven hours.Security personnel, camera monitoring for safety and securityUPEIDA Additional CEO Srihari Pratap Shahi said adequate arrangements and deployment have been made to ensure the safety of passengers on the expressway. He said a total of nine roadside facilities would be monitored through cameras and security personnel would be deployed to maintain security.Six police patrol vehicles will patrol each package to control traffic and prevent violation of rules. Similarly, 18 advanced ambulances, eight heavy-duty cranes, eight towing vans and four hydraulic cranes (used to lift and move a completely damaged or immobilized vehicle) will be deployed to keep the expressway free from undue obstructions and hazards.Officials said passengers in distress can make an emergency call on the centralized number 14449. Designed to maintain speeds up to 120 km/h, two main plazas have been established on the main carriageway at the starting and ending points of the high-speed corridor along with 19 exits to provide first aid to the injured. At 21 locations, one ambulance with a driver and two paramedics will also be kept on standby.The demand for additional police patrol vans will be raised in the coming days if congestion or blockages are encountered at places where the Ganga Expressway intersects with national highways.AI-based cameras to send alerts during accidentsAdani Enterprises, which will collect toll on three packages of the Ganga Expressway, said artificial intelligence-based surveillance cameras will be used to generate real-time alerts to detect car accidents. “The emergency response system will be activated immediately to reach individuals seeking help. The AI ​​system is equipped to provide precise location with geographic coordinates to emergency response vehicles,” the company said in a statement. Adani Enterprises developed the 464 km extension (about 80% of the total project). According to estimates given by the UP government, the expressway will help save Rs 25,000-30,000 crore annually by improving logistics.