Surathkal toll gate: Protest staged in M’luru city against police notices

Mangaluru: Members of various like-minded organisations staged a protest in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha here on Monday against Mangaluru City police for serving notices on activists, who are part of the Action Committee Against Surathkal Toll Gate.
CPM Dakshina Kannada district secretariat member Sunil Kumar Bajal said the protest planned at Surathkal on October 18 cannot be thwarted through police force. “Threatening protesters by serving notices through police will not change our decision to hold a protest. There is no change in our decision to hold a protest. We are not frightened by police’s notices,” he said.
KPCC vice-president and former MLC Ivan D’Souza said that nothing can prevent the power of people’s unity. He asserted that the protest against the toll gate will be held to end toll collection.
Social activist M Devadas said the action of police entering houses of women activists, threatening them and serving notice is against democracy. “Such action by the police will only intensify our protest. People will not withdraw from their decision.”
Activists M G Hegde, Raghu Ekkaru, former deputy mayor Mahammed Kunjathbail, leaders of various political parties and elected representatives were present.
DC has powers to stop toll collection: Ivan
KPCC vice-president Ivan D’Souza said even the deputy commissioner has the power to stop the toll collection from an ‘illegal’ toll plaza with immediate effect. He said here on Monday that the authorities have been dilly-dallying over stopping toll collection at Surathkal.
“Even Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has declared that there will be only one toll plaza for a distance of 60km on national highways. However, even after six months of the minister’s announcement, the toll plaza at Surathkal continues to function,” D’Souza said.
He alleged that the BJP, which has been using ED and IT to suppress protests against the government, has been threatening activists in Mangaluru through police notices. “The toll gate at Surathkal is collecting an average of Rs 12 lakh per day, and has already amassed Rs 400 crore in the last eight years. The authorities should provide details of the accounts,”he said. Congress workers also carried out a padayatra against the toll gate.