India News | U'khand: Vehcile Owners Protest as Toll Plaza Becomes Operational

Dehradun, Feb 18 (PTI) The Lachchiwala toll plaza on the Dehradun-Haridwar highway became operational on Thursday amid a protest by vehicle owners demanding exemption from toll fee.

Backed by the Congress and the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, around 250 taxi drivers protested at the toll plaza causing a long traffic jam on the route.

Police officials talked to the protesters to convince them and withdraw their agitation, which saw Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Kaushal getting his head tonsured in protest.

Doiwala SDM Lakshmi Raj Chauhan and Circle Officer Anuj Kumar were seen assuring the protesters that their demand will be looked into.

The protesters said the highway for whose construction the locals had given their lands was not complete yet but toll collection had been started without any consideration to locals.

Congress leaders said officials have assured that concession will be given to private vehicles for a week and commercial vehicles for three days but threatened to intensify the agitation if a clear cut decision for local vehicles was not taken in the next few days.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)