The Tollgate Virodhi Horata Samithi has decided to go ahead with the plan to storm the Surathkal toll gate on the National Highway 66 on Tuesday, turning down the appeal of officials and Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel to defer their agitation by 15 to 20 days and wait for completing the process of merging the Surathal toll gate with the Hejamady toll plaza which is 12 km away on the same highway.
The police have made elaborate security arrangements to handle the protest, which is likely to disrupt traffic movement on the busy highway.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the toll gate administrator have sought police protection.
Meanwhile, the police said that the agitators will not be allowed to come close to the toll gate and damage it. The samithi has not sought permission to hold the protest, the police said.
And, Mr. Kateel said on Monday that the law will take its own course if the protesters took the law into their own hands. Bankers who have invested in the road work have come to the city to look into the issue of merger, he added.
In response, Muneer Katipalla, convenor of the samithi, said: “We will peacefully demonstrate at the toll gate and stop ‘illegal’ collection of toll.”
The samithi has been fighting for the last six years to get the Surathkal toll gate closed as it goes against the norm that there cannot be more than one toll plaza in a distance of 60 km. There were lot of assurances for removal of the toll gate, including the one made by National Highways Authority of India official in August that the Surathkal toll gate will be merged with Hejamady toll plaza in a month.
With the officials failing to announce a specific date for closing down the toll gate, the samithi decided to lay a siege to the toll gate on Tuesday.
Apart from members from the Congress, the Janata Dal (S) and other political parties, members of several organisations, including bus owners, taxi drivers and lawyers, have extended their support to the agitation. A good number of people from neighbouring Udupi district too are expected to take part in the agitation.
Published - October 17, 2022 11:55 pm IST
