Alipiri toll plaza all set to get FASTag

Security, as always, gets top priority, says TTD Chairman

About 10,000 four-wheelers pass through the toll plaza on any given day, which touches 12,000 on peak days.

Alipiri, the gateway to the Tirumala hills, considered the abode of Lord Venkateswara, is all set to get FASTag, as the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) management is seriously contemplating its implementation.

FASTag is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology based system employed to collect payment in toll gates through the prepaid mode. The Union government has already made it mandatory for four-wheelers to have FASTag, with the toll plazas on national highways set to go cashless. The deadline has been finally revised to January 15 this year.

Interestingly, Alipiri is believed to be the first such toll plaza not coming under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as it is totally maintained and operated by the TTD. As many as 10,000 four-wheelers pass through the toll plaza on any given day, which touches 12,000 on peak days, fetching a collection of ₹2.5 lakh on normal days and ₹3.5 lakh on peak days.

Stringent checks

Looking beyond toll collection, the plaza doubles up as a security point to check vehicles bound for Tirumala, in view of the importance of the world-famous shrine and the sensitivity involved in it, in the wake of security alerts. Frisking every individual and scrupulously checking every passing vehicle — even the under carriage — are a routine activity here. Though going the FASTag way would save a lot of time for the travellers, the mandatory security check might not.

According to TTD trust board Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, the temple management is seized of the matter, as it is ‘a national- level initiative.’

“The system will be as stringent as it is now in preventing untoward incidents and as such, there will be no compromise on security,” he maintained.