Toll collection begins on NH 209 stretch linking Bengaluru to Kanakapura despite incomplete service roads; residents and commuters upset
The Hindu
NHAI collects toll on Kanakapura-Malavalli road despite incomplete service road, sparking backlash from commuters and residents.
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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began collecting toll on the Bengaluru-Kanakapura road from Friday (May 9, 2025), even as the service road construction remains incomplete, catching commuters and local residents off guard.
According to the toll rates at the collection point near Somanahalli on the Bengaluru-Kanakapura stretch of the national highway 209, it is ₹85 for cars, jeeps, and similar light motor vehicles for a single journey and ₹130 for a return trip. Light commercial vehicles and mini-buses must pay ₹140 for one-way and ₹205 for a round trip. For lorries and larger buses, the charge stands at ₹290 and ₹435, respectively.
Three-axle vehicles are required to pay ₹315 for one direction and ₹475 for the return trip. Vehicles with four to six axles will be charged ₹455 one-way and ₹680 for the return trip, while those with seven or more axles will need to shell out ₹555 for one-way travel and ₹830 for the return trip.
The NHAI is upgrading the NH 209 corridor, an important stretch connecting Bengaluru to Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, into a double-lane road. The project, which passes through Kanakapura, Malavalli, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar, and Punjur, is far from complete, especially in areas close to Bengaluru’s southern outskirts.
Residents in villages such as Kaggalipura, Somanahalli, Tharalu, and Nelaguli, situated close to the new toll plaza, have voiced their objections to the NHAI’s decision. Locals have urged the authority to construct a 6-km service road on either side of the toll gate to connect Bengaluru and Kanakapura, so that they can bypass the toll and continue daily travel without paying the toll.
They have also stressed the importance of completing the four-laning of the highway, which has been progressing in phases.
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