A large number of people staged a protest at Belman in Udupi district on Sunday urging the State government to drop the move to collect toll at the proposed toll plaza at Belman on Karkala-Belman-Nitte-Padubidri State Highway Number 1 from October 15.
They shouted slogans against the government and said that the government has taken a unilateral decision in the matter.
People representing bus owners association, autorickshaw unions, different social organisations, political parties and some religious leaders participated in the protest.
Addressing the gathering, V. Sunil Kumar, MLA, Karkala, said that the government was behaving in an autocratic manner by ignoring the opposition of the people to the proposed toll plaza. It would be nothing but looting the people.
The MLA said that the State government and the local administration should own up the responsibility if any untoward incidents took place over the issue. He said that people are ready to face any consequences if the government did not drop the move.
Mr. Kumar said that he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister in the next two days and urge him to drop the move. If the government did not agree, the fight would be intensified, he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivasa Poojary said that paying toll would be a burden on the people.
Esha Vittaladasa, seer, Kemaru Mutt, urged the government to withdraw the proposal immediately. Instead, the government should focus on creating more better infrastructure facilities, he said.
N. Suhas Hegde, convener, Toll Gate Action Committee, said that the agitation would be intensified if the government went ahead with its decision.
The committee submitted a memorandum to Karkala Deputy Tahsildar Lokesh.
Meanwhile, Udupi Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis told reporters that the Public Works Department had asked the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) to develop the road.
After upgrading it, KSHIP has now handed the road to Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL). The Public Works Department has now sought from KRDCL written information on setting up a toll plaza. The State government has also begun the toll collection process on other State highways in other districts, she said.
Police tightened security in view of the protest.
Belman is a junction, where roads coming from Shirva, Karkala-Nitte, Mundkur and Padubidri meet.
The people from the surrounding villages visit Belman often for different reasons. They fear that they would have to pay toll every time they drive to Belman and return.
