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Bengaluru International Airport toll booth draws zilch

Taxi owners and drivers greeted the opening of the new toll booth near Bengaluru International Airport entrance at Sadarahalli gate with protests on Friday.

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Taxi owners and drivers greeted the opening of the new toll booth near Bengaluru International Airport entrance at Sadarahalli gate with protests on Friday.

About 350 protestors gathered at the booth holding banners. “We did not allow them to collect toll today. For vehicles going six times a day to the airport, they want to charge `25 for each trip. This is ridiculous,” said GR Shanmugappa, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress.

“When there is no such fee in Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai, why should it be imposed in Bangalore?” asked Shanmugappa.
All associations have sent a memorandum to the surface transport ministry of the central government, as well as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India, demanding that the toll be reversed.

“We have given them time until April 17 to remove it. If it does not happen, we will go on an indefinite strike, and we will not drive vehicles on the airport way,” he said.

At least 40,000 vehicles pass that route every day.

“Instead of constructing the toll booth on the main road, it has been constructed closer to the airport as the collection will be much more here. Why should those who use only about 100 metres to 200 metres of the entire stretch pay the toll fee?” asked K Ravindra, vice-president of the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Association.

“They are collecting tax for 40 km, and this is not right,” he said.
RK Holla, general secretary of the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners’ Association, said the toll to be collected by Navayuga Constructions Pvt Ltd  flouts many rules.

“According to the rules of the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), toll can be collected every 60 km from the city. The Sadarahalli gate, where the toll booth has been constructed, is only 30 km from the city. The 60th km is actually nearer to Chikkaballapur,” Holla said.

The toll will only add to the burden on passengers as well as the tourist community.

“The hurriedly-constructed toll booth is small and hazardous for large vehicles. This will definitely cause delays and traffic jams,” Holla added.

“A traffic jam is bound to ensue, because for every vehicle that is stopped, it will take at least three minutes to move on and those heading to the airport will have to leave home earlier. For dignitaries, there will be a security problem,” Shanmugappa said.

However, no traffic pile-up was reported on Friday as the protest took place on the roadside without creating road blocks, said head constable T Mariraju.  

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