G I P L Toll Plaza

We are based in the control building right at the Paliakkara toll plaza on NH 47. If you’ve driven down this highway, you’ve probably seen us. The building is right next to the lanes where all the traffic passes through. It’s never quiet here. There is a constant hum of engines and the sound of horns at all hours of the day and night. Inside the office, we have a bunch of screens showing the different lanes. It feels a bit like a bunker sometimes because the walls are thick to keep out the noise. We work in shifts, so there is always someone here, even on holidays. The coffee machine in the break room is probably the most important piece of equipment we have. We see thousands of people passing through every single day, though we rarely talk to them directly from this building. It’s mostly about monitoring the systems and making sure everything is running okay on the road. The area around Chittissery is usually green, but we mostly just see the grey of the asphalt and the tail lights of the trucks. It’s a strange way to work, watching the world go by from a small room, but it’s what we do. Sometimes things get backed up, and we can see the frustration on the screens. It’s a lot of responsibility to keep the flow going smoothly.