Farmers closed two toll plazas in Haryana's Ambala and Karnal late last night, letting the vehicles cross without paying the duty.
Intensifying their protest against the Centre's new Agri laws, farmers took over some toll plazas in Haryana on Saturday, not allowing authorities to collect fees from commuters.
Farmers closed two toll plazas in Haryana's Ambala and Karnal late last night, letting the vehicles cross without paying the duty.
"Vehicles are not paying the toll since midnight. Some farmers had come and forced us to close the toll plaza. We haven't received any information yet as to how long this will continue but the farmers are saying that it will remain toll-free throughout the day till midnight," said Ravi Tiwari, in-charge at Shambhu Toll Plaza in Ambala, on Saturday.
Agitating farmer unions had circulated a message among their cadres across the nation to make India a 'toll-free' country for Saturday in the ongoing protest. The message was circulated a day ago and the announcement was made in two previous farmers' meetings held at the Singhu border on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway on Thursday and Friday.
More than 100 farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders Malkit Singh and Manish Chaudhry gathered at a toll plaza on the Ambala-Hisar highway, around 15 kilometers from Ambala city.
Apart from Ambala, farmers also did not allow the collection of fees from commuters at Bastara and Peont toll plazas in Karnal.
A large number of police personnel were deployed at the toll plaza to maintain law and order.
The farmers, who were mainly from Haryana and Punjab were adamant that until the government fulfills their demands to withdraw the laws, the movement would continue in a similar way.
This would lead to huge losses for the toll plaza operators. Thousands of vehicles cross the Bastara Toll Plaza on the Delhi-Chandigarh route everyday. Around Rs 200 is charged here.
In Punjab, toll charges are not being collected from commuters as farmers have been staging sit-ins at toll plazas since October 1. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is suffering a loss of Rs 3 crore per day on account of farmers' protest at toll plazas in the state.
Scores of farmers across the country, including Haryana, are heading towards Delhi to join the agitation amid the deadlock with the central government over the new farm laws.
They also planned to block the Delhi-Jaipur, and Delhi-Agra highways on Saturday. Besides, the farmers' unions have threatened to block railway tracks if the laws are not repealed.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has appealed to the protesters to stop their agitation as talks are still going on.
(With agency inputs)
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