As elections approach, demands for removal of toll plazas gain momentum
The election campaigns have boosted the demand for the removal of some of the toll plazas operational in the city and district. Besides the announcement by one of the ticket aspirants of the Congress party, promising the abolition of the plazas if the party comes to power, an association, comprising daily commuters between Faridabad and Gurugram, has sought the removal of such points between the two cities.
‘Thousands exploited’
Thousands of residents of various segments, including Badkhal, Faridabad, Tigaon, Ballabgarh and Palwal, are victims of the situation. — Manoj Kumar, a commuter
“As the operation of three to four toll plazas within 20 to 25 km had been a cause for concern and was a major bottleneck for the movement of vehicles, the demand is being raised at various levels so that the new government or its representatives could work out a solution to provide commuters with the much-needed relief,” said Anuroop Sehgal, a daily commuter and a member of a social media group, demanding the abolition of the toll plaza on the Faridabad-Gurugram highway.
“Thousands of residents of various segments, including Badkhal, Faridabad, Tigaon, Ballabgarh and Palwal, are victims of the situation,” said Manoj Kapoor, another commuter. He said the candidates of various parties who approached them for vote or support would be told to provide assurance for the removal of such bottlenecks.
Vijay Pratap, a probable Congress candidate from the Badkhal segment, promised that the plazas on the Badarpur border (Delhi) and the roads connecting Faridabad and Gurugram would be abolished if the Congress party came to power in the state.
Charging the ruling party with exploiting the common man, Sharda Rathore, former MLA and Congress party aspirant from Ballabgarh, said the residents were made to pay a toll tax for moving out of the city and this was pure harassment. She said tolls within a radius of 60 km need to be removed immediately.
Baljeet Kaushik, an aspirant from the Faridabad segment, said while the present BJP MP from Faridabad had described the toll collection Badarpur border as a “jizya kar”(jizya tax, a type of taxation historically levied on non-Muslim subjects during the Mughal rule) before getting elected as MP in 2014 , he and other leaders of the BJP had now been expressing their inability to provide relief.
Karan Dalal, Congress candidate from Palwal, said a PIL against the toll plaza at Gadpuri located between Faridabad and Palwal had been filed in the High Court. He added that his party would work for the removal of such bottlenecks.
Abhash Chandela of the AAP here said his party would not only get these removed but would order a probe into the ‘scam’ going on in the name of toll plazas. The Indian National Lok Dal had already promised the abolition of the plazas that violate the norms, said a local leader.
Meanwhile, the increase in the toll rate proposed at the Badarpur toll plaza between Faridabad and Delhi had been put on hold, perhaps in the wake ofthe elections, it was reported.
