JOIN USOff late, the 165 km long Yamuna Expressway, has been in the news for about a dozen causalities in less than a month since its inauguration. Despite frequent pleas by authorities to commuters, to stay within the limit of 100 km/hour, motorists are indulging in over-speeding.
People who have been to the stretch, built at a huge cost of Rs 12,000 crore, say they can’t help but drive at speeds above permissable limits seeing the wide and smooth road!
Even though speed lovers fall for the ‘world-class’ highway which has three toll plazas, they find basics lacking. Facilities like street lights, medical centres, petrol pumps and eating joints are missing from the E-Way even as authorities charge a higher toll tax than required.
Metrolife talks to some who have already taken the ride and come back with tales to spare. Ravi Shankar Dubey, a project engineer in Noida, says the highway is well constructed, beautiful and the drive is even better if one has a luxury car.
“However, drivers of smaller cars might feel a little bubble and jerk. I didn’t find too many CCTV cameras either as claimed and over-speeding is so normal,” says Ravi, who has been on the stretch twice.
While some rue the lack of U-turns until tolls arrive, others feel there is no need for them, as it raises the risks.
Mohit Sharma, a banking professional, says, the highway is beyond expectations but the speed limit is less. “The E-Way is very good if we learn to drive carefully.
There are flaws which can be fixed though. There are no lights except at the tolls; toll charges are very high; there are no petrol pumps or other support systems if your car breaks down at a distance from the toll points.” One-way trips costs Rs 320 for cars and Rs 150 for two-wheelers.
The highway also has agricultural fields at certain points and cows and dogs wander in unexpectedly leading to accidents. Shreshtha Chadha, a professional, says the view is pretty with lots of greenery and the drive is smooth too.
“The only problem is, there is no U-turn until the toll. Besides, there are fields on the sides of the road. We had a narrow escape as three-four cows suddenly came in front of our car,” she shares.
Bhuvan Rustagi, a CA, feels with almost everybody flouting speed limits, it is no wonder that so many accidents have taken place. “It is a fantastic stretch and its good that there are no U-turns because nobody goes on a expressway just like that. Most Indians have small cars and if they don’t drive on highways within the limit, there are chances of tyre burst too,” he says.