Residents of Attari border villages demand toll tax exemption

Residents of several villages in Attari under the leadership of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha held a protest accusing the toll plaza contractor of forcibly collecting fee from them. Residents of Attari, Mode, Bachiwind, Khasa Chicha, Bhakna, Rora Wala, Neshta, Mohawa, Puccapind and Raja Tal villages said the new contractor engaged by the toll company at Chiddan on the national highway is forcing residents of nearby villages to pay toll fee even as they are exempted by the government.

They said the toll plaza authorities are harassing them and labourers from the border area by imposing toll tax. As per a ruling, the residents of villages within a certain distance of the toll plaza are exempted as they have to cross it several times a day.

“Our villages are along the border. We have no big markets here. The nearest town is Khasa and we have to go there for all our needs. Earlier, the residents within 20 km of the toll plaza were exempted on showing the proof of residence,” said Jagtar Singh, a protestor. He said there is no other route and as such they are forced to pay every time they cross the road.

Others said their residences fall on one side of the toll plaza and fields on the other side of it. “We have to go to fields frequently. Sometimes it happens three or four times a day. If we are made to keep paying toll fee for every visit, we will have no money to buy other things,” said Joginder Singh.

They said despite a decision to make the toll plaza free for the people of this area after the farmers’ morcha at Delhi border, the contractor did not fulfil the promise. The farmers claimed that they have already suffered immense losses during various conflicts, including the 1965 and 1971 wars, the Kargil war, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2001 attack on the country’s Parliament.

Addressing the gathering, Rattan Singh Randhawa said the harassment would not be tolerated and demanded that the old situation be restored, where no toll fee was taken from the people of the border areas.