Delayed work on Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway takes a toll on GSRTC pockets
Updated: Dec 11th, 2023
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| GSRTC buses (img: IANS) |
Project to convert the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway from four-lane to six-lane, a menace to the economies of private as well as state-owned organisations, is now again delayed further. Last scheduled to be inaugurated in October this year, this project still has at least 10% of the work left to be done.
Earlier, the expected completion of this project was scheduled for 24 months, but it has been extended for the past 70 months and counting.
Because the project remains incomplete even after 46 months of the proposed deadline, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) alone has incurred a loss of more than ₹21 cr.
The vehicles are affected either by the multiple diversions, speed breakers, or narrow roads due to the construction work on the highway.
Ahmedabad-Rajkot GSRTC buses affected on
The average time expectancy between Rajkot and Ahmedabad Central bus station (Geeta Mandir bus stop) was proposed to be 4 hours and 20 minutes after the completion of this lane conversion project.
However, as per the internal sources at the state transport, the time expectancy was already around this before the initiation of this project. But as the construction began on the highway, the time expectancy has extended to over five hours.
The sources added that the number of GSRTC buses travelling daily on this highway is around 350, and because of the hour-long time delay, the buses lose around five litres of diesel per journey.
Thus, in these 46 months, 24.15 lakh litres of diesel worth more than ₹21 cr have been wasted over this time delay.
Heavy commute on the highway
According to a January 2018 survey of the National Highway division of the state government, approximately 50,000 passenger car units pass daily from the highway’s toll booth. Which has surged to 85,455 in recent times. Which translates into 82,000 people passing through the highway toll booth every day.
Calculations estimate that around 11 cr human hours were wasted in these 46 months due to the project.
