Udupi MLA K. Raghupati Bhat said on Wednesday that he opposed collecting users fee from local vehicles at toll plazas in Hejmady and Sasthan on the National Highway 66 by making FastTag compulsory from January 1.
The MLA told presspersons in Udupi that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not completed the four-lane project of the NH 66 in Udupi district. It is yet to complete work on the flyover at Shastri Circle in Kundapur and the widening of the highway at Padubidri is still pending. In addition, the NHAI has not completed work on some service roads. Hence, without completing the projects, users fee should not be collected.
The MLA said that as per an earlier understanding with the NHAI, users fee should not be collected from local vehicles within a five-kilometre radius of the two toll plazas. Now, no fee is being collected from such vehicles. This should continue from January 1 too.
Mr. Bhat said that the issue will be discussed in a meeting in Udupi on January 9 which will also be attended by Udupi-Chikkamgaluru Member of Parliament Shobha Karandlaje.
The MLA said that local people should be employed at toll plazas.
Meanwhile, the Tollgate Virodhi Horata Samithi, Surathkal, has opposed making FastTag compulsory at Surathkal toll plaza from Friday. If the government did so, the samithi will launch an agitation, samithi convener Muneer Katipalla said in a memorandum submitted to Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada K.V. Rajendra copies of which were sent to Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel and Mangaluru Project Director, NHAI, Shishu Mohan.
The samithi said that Surathkal toll gate should be merged with the Hejmady toll gate which is nine kilometres away.
He said that the free entry for local people at Brahmarakutlu toll gate on Bengaluru-Mangaluru National Highway and at Talapady toll gate on NH 66 should continue.
