Bangalore, Apr 27 (IANS): Karnataka Wednesday said it would not allow a private builder to collect toll on a stretch of road leading to the airport as work on upgrading the highway has not been completed.

"Till the work is completed we will not allow toll collection," state Public Works Department Minister C.M. Udasi told reporters here.

Opposing the toll collection on this stretch of the Bangalore-Hyderabad National Highway 7, taxi operators and a group of pro-Kannada activists had vandalized the toll booths Monday April 25, the day the collection was to start.

The collection was immediately stopped on the instruction of the state Transport Minister R. Ashoka.

The Navayuga Devanahalli Tollway Private Limited (NDTPL) had advertised in newspapers that the National Highways Authority of India, a central government agency, had approved the rate and collection would begin Monday.

The toll was Rs.20 for a single journey for light vehicles and Rs.95 for heavy vehicles.

Udasi said the NDTPL had begun to collect the toll without completing upgradation of the 22-km stretch of the highway and providing for service lanes, under passes and other facilities.

"Since the agency has not fulfilled its part of the obligation, toll collection will not be allowed," Udasi said.

The new Bangalore International Airport is 35 km from the city and taxis are the most preferred mode of transport, though the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation operates air-conditioned Volvo buses to the airport from various destinations in the city.

Daily hundreds of taxis ply between the city and the airport, which handles around 10 million passengers a year now. This number is expected to touch 17 million by 2015.