At least 130 people were detained by Mangaluru police on Tuesday during a protest demanding the removal of the Surathkal toll gate on the outskirts of the city.
The protest was organised by the Tollgate Virodhi Horata Samithi, an outfit opposed to the operation of the toll gate at Surathkal.
“After the protest, those who had gathered, tried to lay siege to the toll booth. So, they were stopped and detained under preventive arrest,” Mangaluru police commissioner Shashi Kumar told reporters.
Samithi leader Muneer Kaatipalla, former MLAs Ivan D’Souza, Shakuntala Shetty, JR Lobo, Mohiuddin Bava, Congress leaders Mithun Rai, Shashidhar Hegde, Pratibha Kulai, and B.K Imthiyaz were among those detained after Tuesday’s protest.
The Samithi has been demanding the removal of the toll gate since last year. According to the outfit, the toll gate is operating less than 10 km away from the one at Hejamadi on the Mangaluru-Udupi route since 2016 in contravention of highway rules. According to the rules, no two toll plazas on a national highway should function in less than a distance of 60 km.
On September 13, Union minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari during a visit to Mangaluru had assured that the toll gate would be removed in 15 days NHAI officials had indicated that the Surathkal and Hejamady toll plazas are likely to be merged.
{{/usCountry}}On September 13, Union minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari during a visit to Mangaluru had assured that the toll gate would be removed in 15 days NHAI officials had indicated that the Surathkal and Hejamady toll plazas are likely to be merged.
{{/usCountry}}In a meeting held at the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner’s office last NHAI had also assured to resolve the issue within 15 to 20 days.