Surathkal action committee to join protest at Hejamadi toll gate

The action committee against Surathkal toll gate, which is winding up its month-long agitation against toll collection on Wednesday, will join the protest against increased toll collection at the Hejamadi toll gate.

With the closure of the Surathkal toll gate by Wednesday midnight, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to collect the same toll collected at Surathkal from Hejamadi toll plaza in addition to the existing rates at the gate.

In a statement here, action committee convenor Muneer Katipalla said the people have unitedly won the battle against the Surathkal toll gate. However, the decision to collect the same toll at Hejamadi, which is located in Udupi district, is proof of the failure of the elected representatives of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, he said.

He said the committee members will join the proposed protest against the increased toll collection at Hejamadi on Friday.

Though the process of the merger of the two toll gates began 10 months back, the people’s representatives were in the dark about the proposal to collect the fee at Hejamadi, he said.

Katipalla said it is the collective failure of the people’s representatives from both the districts who did not protest against the NHAI’s decision.