Villagers along Ambala-Kala Amb highway demand toll exemption

Farmers and residents of 11 villages located in the vicinity of the Banaundi toll plaza on the recently opened Ambala-Kala Amb Greenfield Highway have been demanding exemption from toll for free travel.

Residents led by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) have been staging a dharna for the past five days. They have managed to keep the toll free for the users, causing a revenue loss of Rs 3 lakh a day to the exchequer. Protesters said they would keep the toll plaza free till the demand was met.

BKU (Tikait) Ambala president Singara Singh said: “A new toll plaza has been established, but no relaxation has been given to the residents of 11 villages, including Khurd, Tandwal, Banaundi, Bara Gaon, Ramgarh, Shahzadpur, Baragarh and Patrehri, located in a radius of around 5 km. There are toll plazas where the contractor firms give relaxation to the residents of the surrounding villages, and the same relaxation should be given here as well. The highway also has issues related to connectivity.”

“The union has demanded that vehicles of the farmer unions should be allowed to pass the toll plaza without any fee. Also, the passage for two-wheelers is narrow, due to which riders face inconvenience. We have raised these demands in the meetings held with district administration and National Highway Authority of India officials, but there has been no positive response. It has been decided that the dharna will continue till the demands are met,” he added.

Naraingarh Congress MLA Shalley Chaudhary, Ambala MP Varun Chaudhry and several local leaders have extended their support to the demands raised by farmers and residents of 11 villages.

An NHAI official said: “The Ambala-Kala Amb Greenfield Highway is a 33-km-long stretch for which the toll is being charged. No provision allows the NHAI to give relaxation to villages in the surroundings of the toll plazas to pass without paying the toll. Residents of the village located within 20-km radius of the toll plaza can get a monthly pass at nearly Rs 350.”

The official further said there were no issues with the connectivity and 13 entry and exit points were given on the greenfield highway. The traffic so far is on the lower side and it will pick up gradually. The greenfield highway will be connected with a ring road being built in Ambala. The existing alternate roads, which they were already plying on, are still open for traffic, and the users are free to use the alternate roads if they don’t want to use the greenfield at present. The NHAI has raised the issue with the district administration and the police department, and efforts are being made to resolve the issue.