'Protests to restart if "double toll" is collected at Hejamady'

Kapu: Opposition leaders have warned that the protests will restart if the “double toll” will be collected at Hejamady Toll Plaza, after its merger with Surathkal toll gate.

In a press conference, former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said that people felt relieved after the dissolution of Surathkal Toll Gate, after a long struggle, was announced. The ploy to collect “double toll at Hejamady” shows the “anti-people policy” of the government, he said.

Further, he said that a petition has been submitted to the toll-free movement for Gram Panchayats within a 5 km radius from the Hejamady toll plaza, similar to the system implemented at Sastan.

Former Minister K. Abhayachandra Jain said that Minister Gadkari himself said in Parliament that Suratkal is an ‘illegal toll’. This “illegal toll” is now being transferred to Hejamady. This shows the deception of the “double engine government”, he said.

Further, Jain alleged that despite the presence of two MPs, and influential leaders –in both districts – everyone is shirking their responsibility.