Protesting the State Government’s decision to hike the fee collected at toll plazas, private bus operators have decided to stop plying buses passing through all eight tollgates in the State set up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) from Wednesday.
“If the hiked amount is collected forcefully, we will not ply the vehicles on those roads from tomorrow. The Government will be responsible if any untoward situation arises at the gates,” said Odisha Private Bus Operators’ Association general secretary Debendra Sahu.
Around 6,000 private buses, which pay a monthly charge of `1, 000 each at each toll gate now, would be affected by the hike in toll, he added.