Delhi To Jaipur: More Lows Than Highs

Potholes, Dust, Poor Maintenance, Waterlogging Take Toll On Commuters Even As They Pay To Take Highway

- Dipak Dash

Innumerable craters and potholes on the main carriageway, dilapidated sections showing evidence of poor maintenance, and water-logging on the service lane are taking a toll on motorists using the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of National Highway 8. This is despite the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) collecting hefty user fee from cars, buses, trucks, and other bigger vehicles plying on this segment.

For a one-way drive from Kherki Dhaula to Jaipur, NHAI collects Rs 295 from each car and Rs 1,020 from every bus or truck.

On Wednesday, TOI went on a drive from the Kherki Dhaula toll plaza in Gurgaon till the Haryana border to appraise the condition of NH8, which is one of the country's busiest highways. While the recent rains have worsened the state of the highway, motorists said it was no better before the rains despite the central government's claims to having made the entire national highways network pothole-free.