Cong. opposes move to resume toll collection

A long queue at the Paliyekkara toll plaza.

Protesting against the move to resume toll collection at Paliyekkara toll plaza on National Highway 544 from April 20 onwards, the Congress has demanded that the government should postpone toll collection until the lifting of the lockdown.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has permitted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to resume toll collection on highways from April 20 following the relaxation of norms for inter-State and intra-State movement of trucks and other goods carrier vehicles.

The government had suspended collection of toll on March 25 in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

In his petition to the Thrissur District Collector, DCC vice president Joseph Tajet demanded that toll collection should be resumed only after the lockdown ends on May 3.

Emergency services

“Public transport will resume only after May 3. People in emergency situations will use the highways now. Toll collection during this period will be difficult for emergency services. We cannot ignore the chances of disease spread at the toll plaza,” he said.

A majority of vehicles did not have FASTag and the queue for non-FASTag vehicles at the toll plaza would be long, said Youth Congress leader Sunil Lalur, while demanding the postponement of the move to resume toll collection.