Farmers' body warned of taking over all highway toll plazas in Uttar Pradesh if the government and NHAI do not allow free passage of tractor-trolleys.
NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: Highway modernization is facing a new threat, this time from Bharat Kisan Union(BKU), with the farmers' body warning of taking over all highway toll plazas in Uttar Pradesh if the governmentand NHAI do not allow free passage of tractor-trolleys and vehicles of people living in a 10-km radius of a tolling point.
A day after its top leaders held a long meeting with NHAI officials to resolve several issues, BKU activists on Saturday took over a toll plaza near Garh Mukteshwar on NH-24 for several hours and removed barriers of the toll plaza on NH-58 (Daurala) close to Meerut for the second time. On Sunday, over hundred farmers had laid siege to the Dasna toll plaza. The organization has announced that it will take over a toll plaza near Saharanpur on Monday. The stir may hit the DND Flyway, which connects Delhi and Noida, on Friday.
"For some hours, the NHAI contractor had started tolling on NH-58 on Friday, but we soon took control over the plaza. The protest will spread to other stretches in UP and also in other states," BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said.
The BKU may have ambitiously announced plans to take over toll plazas across UP but the outfit's tactics may be successful only in the western part of the state, where it commands some influence.
On Sunday, agitating farmers reached the Dasna toll plaza around 9.30 am and threw open the toll gates for at least two-and-a-half hours. They again took over the plaza allowing vehicles free passage till late night. "There is no service road, which forces local commuters to pay and cross the toll plaza," Rajveer Singh, BKU's Meerut zone president, said.
BKU has also threatened to re-launch its stir from December 7 on DND Flyway to make the stretch toll free, accusing the district administration and the DND operator of failing to meet their demand. They also want the extra toll that the DND operator had collected between November 9 and 17 to be handed over to the district magistrate so that the amount can be given for charity or to a 'gaushala'. After increasing the toll to Rs 25, it was rolled back to Rs 22 after BKU launched a protest.
There are also reports of the BKU taking over Itaunja and Atariya toll plazas in the next few days and the agitation moving to Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao and Lucknow districts. BKU seems to be using the standoff to gain greater support before the next general election and there are indications of protesters continuing with their agitation till that time. The organization's top leaders are likely to decide which other toll plazas would be targeted.
Tikait added that the fight was not just for farmers' vehicles, but against the wrong policy of government that allows toll operators to charge "hefty" user fee from locals who take highway for 5-10 km. "We will continue the protest against the present practice as NHAI has told us that change in norms is possible only when there is legislation. They are doing nothing despite stretches reporting high number of fatalities," the farmers' leader added.
A day after its top leaders held a long meeting with NHAI officials to resolve several issues, BKU activists on Saturday took over a toll plaza near Garh Mukteshwar on NH-24 for several hours and removed barriers of the toll plaza on NH-58 (Daurala) close to Meerut for the second time. On Sunday, over hundred farmers had laid siege to the Dasna toll plaza. The organization has announced that it will take over a toll plaza near Saharanpur on Monday. The stir may hit the DND Flyway, which connects Delhi and Noida, on Friday.
"For some hours, the NHAI contractor had started tolling on NH-58 on Friday, but we soon took control over the plaza. The protest will spread to other stretches in UP and also in other states," BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said.
The BKU may have ambitiously announced plans to take over toll plazas across UP but the outfit's tactics may be successful only in the western part of the state, where it commands some influence.
On Sunday, agitating farmers reached the Dasna toll plaza around 9.30 am and threw open the toll gates for at least two-and-a-half hours. They again took over the plaza allowing vehicles free passage till late night. "There is no service road, which forces local commuters to pay and cross the toll plaza," Rajveer Singh, BKU's Meerut zone president, said.
BKU has also threatened to re-launch its stir from December 7 on DND Flyway to make the stretch toll free, accusing the district administration and the DND operator of failing to meet their demand. They also want the extra toll that the DND operator had collected between November 9 and 17 to be handed over to the district magistrate so that the amount can be given for charity or to a 'gaushala'. After increasing the toll to Rs 25, it was rolled back to Rs 22 after BKU launched a protest.
There are also reports of the BKU taking over Itaunja and Atariya toll plazas in the next few days and the agitation moving to Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao and Lucknow districts. BKU seems to be using the standoff to gain greater support before the next general election and there are indications of protesters continuing with their agitation till that time. The organization's top leaders are likely to decide which other toll plazas would be targeted.
Tikait added that the fight was not just for farmers' vehicles, but against the wrong policy of government that allows toll operators to charge "hefty" user fee from locals who take highway for 5-10 km. "We will continue the protest against the present practice as NHAI has told us that change in norms is possible only when there is legislation. They are doing nothing despite stretches reporting high number of fatalities," the farmers' leader added.
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