Bad road to Samakhiyali toll gate in Gujarat irks traders

The toll gate at Samakhiyali on the National Highway 8-A, one of the busiest in the state with around 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles plying daily, helps  export and import cargoes from Kandla and Mundra to reach different destinations in North-West India. Only recently did it revise the rates of toll tax. To pass by the toll gate at Samakhiyali these days is a torrid experience because all vehicles, big and small, move at a snail's pace.

To add to the woes, the heavy rains which lashed the state this monsoon, have ruined the condition of a 100 km long stretch from Kandla to Mulia. Fed up with this, the Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has sent a strong letter to the union surface transport ministry and the National Highways Authority of India to set things right on a war footing or else face stiff agitation which may include closure of the toll gate itself.

"The toll gate takes time in collecting taxes and issuing receipts which results in a long queue of vehicles upto four to five kilometers. I pass through the gate twice a week and yesterday's traffic jam was so much that the vehicles were stalled for three hours. As a result, a woman belonging to Vandhiya
village who needed urgent medical attention died on the way as the ambulance carrying her got stuck in the traffic jam," said Hiralal Parakh, top industrialist and president of the Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

Parakh, who is also the president of National Association of Salt Manufactures, said that at least two vehicles should pass through the gate which doesn't happen now as the staff at the toll gate are inexperienced. Also, the number of staff at the gate is inadequate burdening the other personnel. He said that the nearby RTO weigh bridge also was responsible for long detention of the vehicles. He said that the entire NH-8A from Kandla port to Halwad was in bad shape with no repair of any kind. This has also resulted into numerous traffic jams and increased number of road accidents.

"The main aim behind collection of tax is to recover cost of the construction of the road and its maintenance. But, the authorities have failed to do the same," he said.