Mangaluru, Dec 2 (PTI) The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has directed its regional office to not collect the combined user fee at the Hejamadi toll gate until a concrete decision or consensus is reached on the matter.

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A press communique issued by NHAI on the revision of user fee rates at Hejamadi toll plaza following the closure of Surathkal toll gate said Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat had telephonically directed the regional authority to not collect user fee of Surathkal toll plaza at Hejamadi till December 5.

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A meeting has been scheduled on December 5 by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari with the Ministers and MLAs of Udupi district to discuss the issue, Bhat said.

He said a meeting would be held on Saturday in which the Udupi district in-charge Minister and people's representatives would take part to discuss the merger of two toll plazas and its repercussions.

The Udupi MLA suggested considering the division of Surathkal toll plaza user fee equally among the three toll gates - Bhramarakotlu, Talapady, Hejamadi - instead of adding the entire user fee amount at Hejamadi gate which would lead to protests by the public.

Udupi deputy commissioner M Kurma Rao has also requested the NHAI officials to not collect the combined user fee at Hejamadi, terming the move as incorrect and unjustified.

The toll gate at Surathkal near here was closed on Thursday after prolonged protests by the public, citing the existence of two toll plazas within a 10-km distance which violated National Highway rules.

(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)