No heed to MP's assurance; commuters suffer

Mangaluru: The ego of the district MP and norms of the government is giving a harrowing time for commuters at the Talapady toll gate.

In order to teach Navayuga Udupi Tollway Limited a lesson for the snail pace construction of the flyovers at Pumpwell and Thokkottu, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, had announced last week that all non-commercial vehicles bearing KA-19 registration will be allowed through the toll gate without a ticket. However, the personnel manning the toll gate insist on collecting toll and in turn have created a disagreement between the Navayuga and the commuters.

According to a source in National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), there are certain rules which even the MP cannot bend. Taking cognisance of the MP’s order, toll is not being collected from vehicles that are from a 5km or less radius from the toll gate. We will look into their identity cards for address at the toll booth to check the locality of the commuters, informed the staff.

An official from Navayuga Company said that the toll was being collected from all vehicles except two-wheelers. The company has not received any intimation from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to stop toll collection, he added.

“Just because the MP issues a fancy statement, we cannot dance to his tunes. We have completed a certain stretch of the highway which entitles us to collect too as per the toll policy. Navayuga is held accountable for every vehicle that passes through the toll gate. We will have to pay the banks from our pockets if we do not collect toll,” explains the official.

“With monthly passes, commuters living within 20kms can traverse through the toll gate an unlimited number of times at a paltry sum of less than Rs. 9 per day. However, there is no demand for such passes,” points out the official.