Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Nov 3: Project director of the local division of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Samson Vijay Kumar, gave his consent to recommend to the union department of surface transport to dismantle the tollgate currently operating near National Institute of Technology, Suratkal.
The official had participated in a meeting held in the office of the district deputy commissioner here on Friday November 2, which was presided over by Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, U T Khader. Officials and anti-tollgate agitators had taken part in the meeting.
In the said meeting, Khader instructed Vijay Kumar to immediately write to the union government to stop collection of toll charges at the Suratkal tollgate built on national highway 66 with immediate effect. The official immediately agreed to do the same.
"The demand for the closure of the said toll plaza had been taken up with the state government a year back, and proposals towards the same had been repeatedly forwarded after each of several meetings held on the issue. The state government had agreed for the proposal to close this tollgate," the minister stated. He therefore felt that the situation should not be allowed to continue further as otherwise the district will earn bad reputation. He therefore advised the project director here to take up the issue with the centre through its regional office at Bengaluru.
Anti Tollgate Action Committee convener, Muneer Katipalla, said that this tollgate was opened in 2015 on a temporary basis and that NHAI had sent proposal to merge this tollgate with the one at Hejamady a year back. He said that toll collection contract is now being extended every six months, and NHAI has not kept its word. He complained that the same old contractor is continuing to collect toll charges.
Deputy commissioner of the district, Sasikanth Senthil, suggested that the proposal to merge Suratkal tollgate with the one at Hejamady may not be proper. He said that the people of the district should stick to the single agenda to cancel the Suratkal tollgate.
Former deputy mayor, Purushotham Chitrapur, former MLA, Vijay Kumar Shetty, youth Congress president Mithun Rai, city corporator, Revathi, and others were present.