Cops seize 8 buses for refusing to pay toll

Bus operators demand slash in toll rate

Kochi - Kerala - Private buses seized by the Panangad Police after the crew refused to pay the éxorbitant' toll being collected at the Kumbalam toll plaza on Monday. Spl

: Police seized 8 private buses running in the Ernakulam-Aroor route for refusing to pay the toll charges at the Kumbalam toll plaza on Monday.

Panangad police filed cases against 16 bus workers for not paying the toll, which they say is exorbitant.

Workers at the toll plaza blocked buses that refused to pay the charges fixed by the National Highway Authority of India, leading to some tense moments at the region on Monday morning.

The unions of bus workers called for a one-day strike in the Vyttila-Aroor-Cherthala route on Tuesday but called it off later following talks convened by the district collector. Bus operators said that the collector had assured them that an amicable solution would be found within a week’s time.

The flare-up was the result of an ongoing friction between toll plaza employees and bus workers since the last two months.

Bus operators alleged that the new company entrusted with the toll collection was levying exorbitant charges on private buses plying in the Ernakulam-Aroor route. They also recalled that the earlier contractor had taken a considerate view of the issue and collected only reasonable money from the private bus operators.

K. S. Rajan of the Ernakualm District Bus Operators Organisation alleged that the toll at Kumbalam Plaza was exorbitantly high compared to the money collected from private buses at the toll plaza in Paliyekkara. He said private buses were forced to pay Rs. 90 daily and Rs. 1,800 a month at the Kumbalam toll plaza affecting their prospects.

The bus operators pointed out that they had approached the district administration on several occasions to initiate steps to cut down the steep toll charges. But there has been little action.