NHAI fails to provide basic amenities on highways

In the absence of washrooms and rest houses on the national highways, travellers are dependent of dhabas. Despite charging a heavy toll, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has failed to provide basic amenities to commuters on the highways.
The much-hyped programme of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is being ignored on the national highways of Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the rest of India.
People can be seen attending to nature’s call on the roadside of national highways. Travelling on the highways is very difficult for women as most of the washrooms at dhabas are in bad shape and unhygienic.
“We can see a number of advertisements on TV channels and newspapers about Swachh Bharat and use of clean toilets but where are the toilets?” asked Manish Sharma, a traveller on the Jammu-Udhampur National Highway.
“We are paying toll, road tax, token tax and all the taxes related to our vehicle, insurance and roads but where are the facilities? It is the duty of the government to provide basic amenities to the travelers,” he added.
The stretch of 90-km-long Jammu-Lakhanpur National highway hardly has any good hotel or a dhaba where travellers can stop to relax. Same is the condition of 60-km- long Jammu-Udhampur highway which also connects to Katra — the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. A car has to pay Rs 75 for one side travelling as toll at Ban Toll Plaza.
RP Singh, project manager, NHAI Jammu, said, “The Ministry of Roads and Transport has a plan to construct way side amenities on the national highway, under which we have identified land at two spots on the Jammu-Udhampur National Highway and search is on at the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway.”
Not only in Jammu and Kashmir, but the national highways in the neighbouring states are also deprived of these basic amenities.
“The plan has been introduced recently, under which there will be way side amenities after every 30 to 40 kilometres. In these complexes, there will be clean toilets, shops and restaurants,” he said.