Toll Hatao Samiti to meet CM before agitation on May 22
Gurgaon Toll Hatao Sangarsh Samiti -- a group that was instrumental in removing the Sirhaul toll plaza -- met on Saturday and decided to approach Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari before launching a formal agitation on May 22.
The samiti members decided to send a letter to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with their demands, and thereafter a 11-member delegation will meet Khattar and Gadkari.
The removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza will also be raised before the CM during a rally in Pataudi on Sunday.
The samiti decided that instead of holding a demonstration on May 16, it will hold the protest on May 22 after deliberating the matter with the government. Senior member of the Samiti RS Rathee said that first they will put the issues before the highways authority and thereafter discuss it with the government. “In case there is no positive response from the authorities, then we will hold a protest on May 22. This will also mark the start of an agitation similar to the one that happened for the removal of the Sirhaul toll plaza,” he said.
Industrialists from Manesar, village elders, and social activists, who were present at the meeting, said that they will support the agitation and the samiti with all their resources.
Former Zila Parishad chairman Rao Abhay Singh said that the toll removal will be taken up with the CM as it has been included in the list of requests made by Pataudi MLA in Sunday’s meeting. “We should take up this issue at the political level apart from filing a petition in the court as this toll has become a bottleneck,” he said.
Manesar based industrialist Kewal Talwar, who manufactures parts for Maruti and Hero, said the supply of finished products and delivery of raw materials has become a permanent problem for the industries in Manesar. “We have to supply parts and material on hourly basis but how can we do it when trucks are stuck at the toll plaza?” he said.
The samiti also plans to involve local villagers in the agitation, particularly from in the 31 villages that are granted exemption from the toll.
President of the samiti Attar Singh said that they will work to expand the movement across Gurgaon. “We will work towards involving local villagers so that the agitation gathers strength. The massess suffer the most,” he said.
Shammi Ahlawat, a key coordinator of the samiti, said that women across Gurgaon will come forward and contribute in removing the Kherki Daula toll plaza.
