Surathkal toll gate stir to be intensified after Nov 7: Protest panel

PTI, Nov 6, 2022, 8:00 AM IST

Mangaluru: Even as the indefinite agitation against the Surathkal toll gate entered the ninth day on Saturday, the action committee has warned of intensifying their stir after November 7, by which Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has promised to stop the toll collection.

Kateel, who is also BJP state president had on October 16 asked the action committee to wait for 20 days to remove the toll gate which ends on November 7.

The protest will be intensified if Kateel fails to fulfil the promise, committee convenor Muneer Katipalla said.

He said the agitation will continue till the toll collection at the plaza is completely stopped. If the local MP fails to keep his assurance, he should quit his post, he said.

Denying Kateel’s charge that the protest is being politicised, he said all sections are welcome to join the stir as it is an issue involving the people.

Katipalla said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) authorities have made it clear that they are waiting for the Centre’s nod to close the toll gate.

However, BJP leaders who are hand in glove with the contractors are putting pressure on the government to continue with the ‘illegal’ toll collection, he alleged.

People have been on the warpath for the last several months against the toll gate at Surathkal near here, which they term as ‘illegal’ as the nearest toll gate at Hejamady is just 10 km away. National Highway rules stipulate that no two toll plazas should exist between a 60-km stretch.

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