Forum urges NHAI to clear toll structure at Karnataka's Surathkal

Members of the Toll Virodhi Horata Samithi Surathkal Toll Gate visited the site of an unused toll gate structure on the NH 66 at Surathkal and decided to meet the deputy commissioner to urge to clear the structure.

Though toll collection at the NITK-Surathkal toll gate was stopped on December 1 last year, road users continue to suffer as the structures of the toll plaza were not removed.

The toll gate structure should be dismantled as toll gate structure that is posing a threat to motorists. The toll collection was closed after a series of protests, said the Samithi members.

Action committee convener Muneer Katipalla said the toll collection at Surathkal was stopped after seven years of protests, but the structure has not been removed. The authorities are developing the national highway stretch near the toll gate without clearing the structure, he added.

“This has led people to speculate and suspect that toll collection may start again at Surathkal in the near future. We have urged the authorities concerned several times to remove the toll gate structure from the national highway,” he said.

During out visit, we noticed the NHAI spending money to develop the road but not demolishing the toll gate structure, Katipalla added.

Owing to the structure at the spot, several accidents have taken place. The structure should be removed to check accidents, he said.

Samithi co-convener Y Raghavendra Rao warned of launching a protest if the unused toll gate structure was not removed immediately.

“We will meet the deputy commissioner and the NHAI project director to raise the issue,” he added. Action committee co-convener Purushotham Chithrapura was present.