Now, no toll fee at Kharegaon toll naka during peak hours

The recent announcement by Thane's guardian minister Eknath Shinde not to collect toll at Kharegaon toll naka during traffic jams has brought cheers to Thanekars. However, most are unaware about this decision.

On September 24, Shinde had called for an emergency meeting with Thane district collector Dr Mahendra Kalyankar, traffic officials, and other officials from various departments to discuss the traffic chaos in the city due to Versova bridge shutdown which would often lead to traffic jams on Thane roads due to diversion.

To tackle this situation, Shinde called a special meeting of various authorities and instructed the Kharegaon toll naka officials not to collect toll from vehicles during traffic jams in peak hours. "Since Kharegaon toll naka comes under the national highway, Shinde sought the opinion of the toll naka manager and it was decided that no toll will be collected in peak hour traffic jams," said an official from Shinde's office.

As the toll naka from Mumbai entry point is in the state government's jurisdiction, toll is not collected from people when the traffic crosses the yellow line. "But due to Versova bridge closure, the traffic was coming in from Kapurbawdi to Majiwada," he said.

An elated Sunil Patil, resident of Bramhand, Thane who works as a manager in a private firm in Kanjurmarg, and drives daily from Bramhand, has been enjoying these occasional toll waivers. "Today also I got the benefit of the yellow line, and no toll fee was taken from me at Kharegaon." However, he was unaware of the blanket instruction given by Shinde. "Are you sure there is such an instruction? That way we can spread the word among fellow car owners and enjoy this waiver if not the traffic," he said.