GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, September 2, said that the state got several big projects because of the tolls collected at highways.
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“We got Gohpur Tunnel, Kaziranga Elevated Corridor from the central government. We will get Baihata-Tezpur four lane highway. We contribute about ₹1000 crore annually as tolls, and Prime Minister in return gives projects worth ₹1 lakh crore,” he said, talking to media.
He asserted that there was no need for making any controversy about the toll collections.
The debate on toll collections came up the recent fatal accident in Sonapur NH27 area on the outskirts of Guwahati, where at least 7 people lost their lives.
Further, the CM asked where money for projects would come from if tolls are not collected on highways.
Specific to the recent accident, the chief minister said that it seemed the vehicle was being driven in a very high speed.
“We have to see the speed of the vehicle. The vehicle had hit the pothole, and then crossed the divider, ramming an oncoming vehicle on the other side of the highway,” the CM said.
He added that the speed of the vehicle can be imagined just by looking at the impact of the fatal accident.
“Had the speed of the vehicle was at around 80 kmph, the impact would have been less. We have to assume that the vehicle speed was 100-120 kpmh,” he added.
He continued that Assam sees several accidents and not all of them are linked to bad roads or potholes. He attributed many of the accidents to riding , overspeeding, and drinking and driving.
“If we discuss about accidents, we have take up the entire gamut of issues,” he said.