In order to ensure maximum collection of money, a toll plaza in Rohtak’s Makdoli village has deployed some men who misbehave and manhandle commuters taking alternative routes to avoid paying hefty toll.
The Makdoli toll plaza, built on Rohtak-Panipat road on NH-71A, charges `170 from car owners for a to and fro journey. To avoid the fees, people follow the common practice of taking alternative routes. They travel on roads passing through Chamariya and Makdoli villages.
However, the toll plaza men have now started putting barricades on these alternative routes inside the villages to stop vehicles and force them to pass through the toll plaza.
“I was going to Panipat with my family on Wednesday morning. Instead of taking the highway, I tried passing through Makdoli village to avoid the toll. However, a group of drunk men stopped me and misbehaved with me. They warned me of dire consequences if I did not go back and take the toll plaza route. Scared, I followed their directions,” said Raj Singh, a resident of Rohtak.
When contacted, toll plaza manager Abhimanyu Singh denied any link with these mafia men.
{{/usCountry}}When contacted, toll plaza manager Abhimanyu Singh denied any link with these mafia men.
{{/usCountry}}However, Makdoli village Sarpanch said these men had been deputed by the toll plaza. “The villagers complained that their roads had become prone to accidents with heavy vehicles passing through them to avoid toll fee.
The toll plaza people, too, complained of incurring losses after commuters started taking alternative routes. Hence, a joint decision was made to deploy these men to stop commuters from adopting these routes,” he said while adding that these men were being paid by the toll company.
Rohtak Sadar police station house officer (SHO) Vijay Dahiya said, “They had previously blocked village roads by laying big stones, but we had removed the blockade. We’ll look into the matter again.”