Private bus operators hold token demonstration protesting ‘unlawful’ toll collection at Hejmady and Sasthana

Private stage carriage bus operators on the Mangaluru-Udupi-Kundapur sector held a token demonstration protesting the ‘unlawful’ toll collection at Hejmady, Sasthana, and Shiroor toll plazas in Udupi district on Kochi-Panvel National Highway 66.

Private stage carriage bus operators on the Mangaluru-Udupi-Kundapur sector held a token demonstration protesting the ‘unlawful’ toll collection at Hejmady, Sasthana, and Shiroor toll plazas in Udupi district on Kochi-Panvel National Highway 66.

If the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) did not set right the anomaly within two days, the operators would be forced to intensify their strife and might stop operation of services, they cautioned.

Leading the demonstration at the Hejmady toll plaza, Canara Bus Owners’ Association president Rajavarma Ballal said ₹700 toll was collected from a bus doing a one-round trip on the sector. The charges are exorbitant and highly irrational, Mr. Ballal said, urging the NHAI to continue the earlier practice of toll collection.

Karavali Bus Owners’ Association honorary president Dilraj Alva said the NHAI Project Office in Mangaluru and the concessionaire managing the Talapady-Kundapur stretch of NH 66 have introduced the new system that was nowhere prevailing in the country.

Association president Raghavendra Bhat said the concessionaire was collecting excess toll from buses for the past one week despite protest by the operators. The buses operating on the sector fall under category V as their gross vehicle weight (GVW) was between 7,500 kg and 12,000 kg as per the vehicle classification documents. “But our buses have erroneously been listed in category VII as that of having GVW of above 12,000 kg. Hence an additional amount (users fee) is being deducted from the wallets of our fast tags,” he said.

Canara Association vice-president Sadananda Chatra said operators were forced to pay the double user fee at Sasthana (₹300 as against ₹145) and Hejmady (₹250 as against ₹120) for a round trip. Despite flagging off the issue with the NHAI and the district administration, operators did not get any relief, he regretted.