Your road trip just got better! going on a road trip is surely a pleasure but stopping from time to time at fuel stations can get pretty hectic but not to worry NHAI better known as National Highway’s Authority of India and MORTH heading by Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari have put forward a proposal to add petrol pumps at Dhabas.
With the ever-growing road network, this step is being considered to benefit travellers, Dhaba owners and the government. During an event, Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari stated ‘In the morning, I told MoRTH officials, the way NHAI gives NOC for petrol pumps, the same way we should also consider giving authorized approval to small Dhaba owners to build petrol pumps and toilets along the highways,”.
Although it is still not clear whether this step involves having electric vehicle charging stations at these establishments or not. This new policy could be the very foundation of many such establishments in the nearing future. However, this step is also being considered to have been taken from western countries i.e USA, Britain etc. where such establishments already exist and have been operated by both the Government and private owners.
This possible step will also help in lowering major range-related anxiety questions significantly.
During the event, Nitin Gadkari also stated ‘that somebody sent him an SMS in which he wrote that he was travelling and there was not a single toilet in the 200-300 km stretch of road’. Adding further, people are encroaching roadside lands, opening Dhabas that create a nuisance as truck drivers park their trucks on road. He then suggested to his officials that the ministry can work on a proposal to provide approval to small Dhaba owners to open petrol pumps with space to park 5-10 vehicles and maintain toilets for the general public.