Villagers at odds with city residents

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, October 11

The controversy over the removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza has got murkier with thousands of residents of at loggerheads with residents of Kherki Daula village.

A week after the toll concessionaire dug up the bypass road built by residents of sectors living near the toll plaza to avoid playing toll by pooling in Rs 3 lakh, the villagers barred them from using a 150-m road connecting the village to the toll plaza.

The residents were in for a shock on Thursday evening when they saw the road barricaded and a signboard reading “not a common passage”.

The villagers said the reason for placed the signboard was to stop cabs and residents of the sectors from passing through Kherki Daula and curb pollution and mishaps.

The 150-m road was carved out and opened to the public on October 3 by Millennium City Expressway Private Limited, the concessionaire of the Delhi-Gurugram expressway. The company has refused to intervene in the matter, saying it was a village road.

A panchayat member said, “Hundreds of cars ply on the 150-m road daily, putting the lives of pedestrians at risk. The road has become a highway as commuters avoid paying toll.”

Praveen Malik, a resident of one of the sectors, said, “We are forced to pay toll every time we step out of our house. The villagers have stopped us from using a legitimate shortcut. That road is public property and nobody can stop private vehicles from plying on it.”

The sector residents approached the district administration. Deputy Commissioner Amit Khatri was reviewing the situation.