Campaign against Surathkal toll plaza reaches flashpoint

Earlier hundreds of protestors holding placards shouted slogans against the illegal toll plaza

Credit: DH Graphic

The nearly nine-year-old campaign against the illegal Surathkal toll plaza, near NITK, reached a flashpoint, as hundreds of protesters broke barricades and attempted to lay siege to the toll plaza on Tuesday.

The activists had been demanding the merger of illegal Surathkal toll plaza with Hejamadi toll plaza, as there were over four toll plazas within a distance of 48 km. Also, the distance between Surathkal toll plaza and the Hejamadi toll plaza was about 10 km.

According to information obtained under RTI by activists D M Sharikh, Ashok Bhat and Dilraj Alva, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had admitted that minimum distance between two plazas should be less than 60 km.

DK Lorry Owners’ Association secretary Sushanth Shetty and the Federation of Lorry Owners’ Association vice-president Mansoor Ibrahim Maravanthe said each truck had to pay Rs 295 while plying through the NITK toll gate and after covering a distance of 17 km, they had to pay Rs 205 again at Hejamadi toll gate.

“As I own 20 trucks, I am spending nearly Rs 8 lakh annually as toll fee. I also pay road tax to the tune of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 once in
three months,” Shetty had told DH.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V, in February this year, had informed that New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) had spent Rs 383 crore on four laning of stretch from Brahmarakotlu to Surathkal.

“Rs 229 crore had been collected so far. The discussions are about how to utilise user charges collected at Hejamadi toll plaza to help NMPA recover the money invested on the roads,” DC said.

Not known to many, the campaign had begun even before the toll plaza was planned in Surathkal.

Yatish Baikampady recollected organising 12 non-political protests to urge then Congress government not to set up the proposed toll plaza in Surathkal.

‘’The toll plaza was within the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) limits and was a heavy burden on regular office commuters. Due to our protests, vehicles with local registration number were exempted from paying toll,’’ Yatish recollected.

“As the present protest against the toll plaza has become political, I have decided to stay away from the agitation,” he added.