Toll collection begins amidst public protest

KOCHI: Amidst protests from a section of people including vehicle owners, the toll collection on Aroor-Kumbalam bridge along the National Highway restarted on Sunday. The toll collection began at around 8 am under heavy police security.   There was minor tension at the spot after certain vehicle owners refused to pay toll. A number of organisations, including Solidarity, PDP and AIYF, took out protest march to the toll plaza  around 9 am. The Panangad police reached the spot and took some of them into custody. They were later taken to the station and cases were registered against them. The toll collection along the Aroor-Edappally National Highway on Aroor-Kumbalam bridge was originally scheduled to begin on June 1. But it was stopped following widespread protests. A number of political organisations and vehicle owners came up with protests stating that the toll rate was higher. Later, the state Cabinet decided to restart the toll collection from July 15. Following protests the government also decided to exclude people from Kumbalam grama panchayat from paying toll. But on July 15 officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) decided to postpone toll collection due to lack of preparations at the toll plaza. Revenue lossIt was pointed out that due to the absence of toll collection for the last 37 days, the government has suffered a huge loss. It’s roughly estimated that the government suffered a loss of about Rs 1 crore.People from neighbouring panchayats have demanded that they should be excluded from toll collection. There were demands that the increased toll rate should be withdrawn. Though the state government decided to exclude people from Kumbalam panchayat from toll collection, no decision was taken to exclude people from two other neighbouring panchayats—Aroor and Maradu. With public protests mounting against toll collection, the state government and the National Highway Authority officials were in a difficult position. Works Minister V K Ibrahim Kunju has said that the state government had to spend Rs 13 lakh per year to give the toll for the people in Kumbalam panchayat. “The toll is being collected as per the specifications of NHAI. So, the state government cannot stay away from it,” Minister T M Jacob had said.