Residents, travellers stage protest at Talapady toll plaza

The residents of Talapady and passengers from Kerala jointly protested against the termination of bus trips near Talapady Toll plaza by staging a dharna against the tollgate authority, NHAI and city bus owners’ association on Wednesday.

The protesters formed a human chain and mounted pressure on toll plaza staff to allow the city buses through the toll gates and end trip at Talapady station without paying toll throughout the day.

Former member of zilla panchayat Vinay Naik, addressing the protesters, recollected that the officials had purchased eight acres of land by paying just Rs 12,000 per cent during the construction of the toll plaza.

“The toll plaza has also encroached upon the government land,” he charged and said that now they were forcing unnecessary hardships on local residents by charging toll fare from city buses.

“The city buses, without ending the trip at Talpady bus stop, terminate near the toll plaza. Thus, the elderly and children are forced to walk for over a kilometre to board another bus. The district administration should immediately
respond to this issue,” he
urged.

Zilla Panchayat member Surekha Chandrahas said, “As elderly people and students walk under the scorching heat, the district administration has turned a blind eye to the sufferings. If this continues, the residents will be forced to intensify the protest.”

Siddiq Talapady of Gadinadu Rakshana Vedike urged the toll plaza staff to hold discussions with the bus owners’ association and resolve the issue amicably.

Talapady Bus Owners’ Association president Karim said the buses had agreed to pay a collective monthly toll of Rs 2 lakh for 31 buses. But the Navyug company is insisting that each bus had to pay a monthly toll of Rs 20,000 (Rs 10,000 for minibus). “The bus owners are not in a position to pay such huge monthly toll,” he said and added that Navyug officers had not participated in two meetings held in the police station and the DC’s office.

After the protest meeting, a human chain was formed from the spot where the Talapady route buses end the trip up to the toll gate. The protesters got into a verbal argument with the toll plaza staff on the issue of allowing the city buses to ply through the toll gate and end the trip at Talapady bus stand without paying the toll.

Ullal station house officer Sandeep rushed to the spot and allowed the buses to pass through the toll gate without paying any toll for rest of the day.