Hundreds of irate Shiv Sainiks, accompanied by aggrieved citizens, on Sunday vandalised two IRB Infrastructure-operated toll stations at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra and set them on fire, following the firm’s failure to discontinue the levy of toll.
With no let up in deadlock over the levy of toll tax, the Shiv Sena has called for a bandh in Kolhapur town on Monday, in protest against the local ministers’ failure to enforce the discontinuance of levy of toll.
The ongoing agitation against the continued collection of tax at various IRB Infrastructure-run toll stations took a violent turn on Sunday morning, as the private firm ignored the assurance of discontinuance of toll tax given by two local ministers Hasan Mushrif and Satej Patil on Saturday night and resumed the levy of tax at various toll stations.
After learning that the levy of toll tax was continuing as before, the angry Sena activists and citizens took to streets and ransacked the toll stations of Shiroli and Phulewadi, damaged CCTV cameras, computers and furniture. They later set the two toll stations on fire. The agitators also vandalised five more toll stations across the city.
Over the past few years, there has been unrest among the people of Kolhapur over the continued levy of tax at the various toll stations, run by the IRB Infrastructure Company. The private company began collecting the tax in 2007, as part of the contract vested with it by the state government for constructing 49.49 km-long internal roads in the city. While the original cost of the project was pegged at Rs 220 crore, the company later claimed that the project had subsequently risen to Rs 520 crore and that it would continue the levy of toll for the next 30 years.
Agitated by the continued levy of toll, members of action committee – comprising various political parties – had gone on an indefinite fast last week. However, Maharashtra labour Minister Hasan Mushrif and Minister of State for Home Satej Patil intervened in the agitation and assured the IRB Infrastructure the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) would pay up as much as Rs 500 crore to it so that the private could discontinue the levy of tax at various toll stations in the city.
Following the two ministers’ intervention on Saturday night, the IRB infrastructure discontinued the levy and the fasting action committee members called off their agitation. However, much to the annoyance of the agitating activists and citizens of Kolhapur, the private company resumed toll collection in the morning, resulting in mob violence and arson.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has appealed to the citizens of Kolhapur not to take law into their hands, but co-operate with the state government in resolving the issue.
“We are keeping a close watch of the situation in Kolhapur. We are also trying to resolve the issue as early as possible. I appeal to people there not to take law into their hands, but cooperate with the state government in finding an early solution to the dispute,” the chief minister said, while talking to media persons in Mumbai.