Now, pay toll to use private road in Unity Building complex

Toll gate put up at Unity Building campus belonging to The Church of South India Trust Association.

If you think that toll is collected only on national and State highways, here’s an exception. Motorists will now have to pay anywhere between Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 to use a private road inside the complex housing Unity, Annexe and Silver Jubilee buildings on Mission Road. The road is a shortcut for motorists heading from N.R. Square on J.C. Road side to Lalbagh Road.

The Church of South India Trust Association, supervised by the Karnataka Inter-Diocesan Administrative, Finance and Property Board, owns the 220-metre road through the Unity, Annexe and Silver Jubilee Buildings located near Corporation Circle. Toll on the road is being collected from December 16.

Two-wheeler riders and autorickshaw drivers have to pay Rs. 5 per day while four-wheeler drivers have to pay Rs. 10 per day to use the road through the day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. If motorists park his/her vehicle in the complex, the toll is adjusted against the parking fee. Visitors have to pay fee of Rs. 10 per hour for parking their two-wheeler and Rs. 20 per hour for four-wheeler parking.

The move of the authorities concerned has irked motorists who use the road to beat traffic signals. With thoroughfare through the complex coming at a price, Rohit T. said that he will now have to take a detour of more than a kilometre to reach J.C. Road from Mission Road through Lalbagh Road. Rajashekar Reddy, an LIC employee, who has used the road for over a decade, says collection of toll for the use of the road is causing inconvenience. “I go from Lalbagh to Mission Road every day. Now, I have to travel double the distance to reach my workplace.” Another disgruntled commuter was K. Narayana, a resident of Sampangiramnagar. “I have been travelling on this route for more than 30 years. How can the management decide to impose toll? Is this a national highway? The stretch of land that they own is barely a few metres long.”

Inconvenience caused

G. D. Pushparaj, executive trustee of the commercial complexes, said, “Over the past few years there has been an increase in the traffic flow on the small stretch, and it has inconvenienced the tenants in the complex. And there are students using the road regularly and accidents are frequent occurrences on the road. That is why we were forced to impose the toll.”

The Ulsoor Gate traffic police said the number of vehicles passing by the road has reduced drastically after the introduction of toll.

Davide Mathews, a tenant in Annexe, says that reduction in traffic flow on the road within the complex has made it easier for him to reach his workplace on time.