Commuters in a jam as protesters block, threaten to bulldoze Ghamroj toll plaza

The Ghamroj toll plaza is part of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) 21.4km-long Sohna elevated road project, which includes a 13km stretch of flyovers and a surface road.

Commuters were stuck on Sohna Road and Golf Course Extension Road during peak hour traffic on Monday morning after police diverted vehicles due to a protest by locals against the newly opened Ghamroj toll plaza.

According to authorities, hundreds of residents from nearby villages gathered at the toll plaza around 9am and protested for three hours. The administration then made the stretch toll-free till Tuesday evening and promised to look into their issues, after which the protesters dispersed. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

According to authorities, hundreds of residents from nearby villages gathered at the toll plaza around 9am and protested for three hours. The administration then made the stretch toll-free till Tuesday evening and promised to look into their issues, after which the protesters dispersed. However, they threatened to vandalise the toll plaza if people living within 20km of the highway were not exempted from paying the toll within two days, said Satbir Khatana, president of Toll Sangharsh Samiti.

Officials said deputy chief minister Dushyant Singh Chautala has called a meeting of the stakeholders on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

The Ghamroj toll plaza is part of the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) 21.4km-long Sohna elevated road project, which includes a 13km stretch of flyovers and a surface road.

According to Khatana, around 150,000 people living in villages and condominiums along the highway are severely impacted by the imposition of the toll. “We are unhappy with the authorities as they have not considered people living in the area who are impacted. We have given an ultimatum to the district authorities that if our demands are not met, we will raze the toll plaza down using a bulldozer,” he said.

After the Samiti gave a call for protest, police on Monday diverted vehicles away from Sohna Road to prevent congestion on the stretch.

Ravi Saluja, a banker and resident of Orchid Petals in Sector 49, said that Monday’s traffic diversions added to their woes. “It took me 40 minutes to cross Sohna Road on Monday morning due to the high volume of heavy vehicles resulting in traffic congestion. Vatika Chowk was jam-packed and I spent over 20 minutes waiting at the signal and another 20 minutes to cross a 3km stretch till Subash Chowk,” he said.

Joginder Kumar, another daily commuter who works in Delhi said that he left Palm Drive in Sector 66 around 8.40am and it took him almost 45 minutes to reach Subhash Chowk from Vatika Chowk. “The traffic situation on Golf Course Extension Road and Sohna Road is getting worse day by day. Vehicles hardly move during peak hours despite police presence. Daily commuters are worst hit when sudden diversions are planned and heavy vehicles playing on the stretch add to our problems,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, traffic police blamed commuters for not taking alternate routes despite an advisory being issued and said congestion was reported during the peak hours after they diverted traffic to make way for heavy vehicles. “The stretch between Subhash Chowk and Vatika Chowk is busy throughout the day but congestion is often reported during peak hours due to the ongoing construction of the Sohna elevated road project. We had issued an advisory to ensure commuters were not stuck due to the protest, and we tried to make the commute easier for them but they did not take alternate routes following which they got stuck,” he said.

Police said they had deployed personnel on the stretch and at the toll plaza to ensure law and order.

Protestors at the toll plaza, meanwhile, said that residents of all villages within 10 kilometres of the Kherki Daula toll plaza are exempted from paying toll and they wanted to be treated the same way. They have asked authorities to shift the toll booth to the nearby Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

Harbir Adhana, vice-president, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit of Sohna, who was among the protesters at the Ghamroj toll plaza, alleged that the authorities did not allow political parties to take part in the protest and also stopped villagers from reaching the spot to protest. “The authorities tried to weaken our protest but we will not stay silent. If our demands are not met within two days, we will sit on dharna on the main road and block it,” he said.

Kushal Bhardwaj, an advocate and resident of Sohna, said that they formed a committee that will attend the meeting called by the deputy chief minister on Tuesday. “We are not ready to pay toll as other areas are also exempted. The government and authorities should take a call on this soon. At least 30% of the population of the area commutes to Gurugram every day for work and paying this toll will hit our pockets. If our demands are not met, we will not allow commuters to use this stretch,” he said.

Jitender Kumar, sub-divisional magistrate of Sohna, said that they discussed the issue with Chautala. “We have decided that toll plaza will remain free for commuters till Tuesday evening. We have sent a proposal that villages within 20 kilometres should be exempted and a final decision will be taken in the meeting,” he said.

“We will ensure that the demands of the villagers are met as it is not feasible for them to pay ₹45 as toll tax every time they cross the toll plaza,” Chautala said.

The Ghamroj toll plaza became operational on April 1 after the NHAI completed phase two of the Sohna elevated road project.