Over 200 members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) took over the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) toll plaza and allowed vehicles to go through without paying charges on Thursday morning.
Surprisingly, no security arrangements were made by the district administration to prevent the BKU from opening the toll plaza despite having prior information about this.
On Wednesday, the BKU had threatened to force open the DND flyway toll plaza from May 9 demanding reduction of toll charges on the stretch.
At around 10:30 am, members of the BKU gathered at the DND flyway and sat near the toll lanes in protest, creating a ruckus.
They also scuffled with DND officials who tried to prevent them from throwing open the toll plaza, but were unable to stop the agitated farmers.
According to an estimate, around 30,000 vehicles crossed the DND for free on Thursday, causing a loss of over Rs8 lakh to the flyway authorities.
The protest by the BKU ended late in the afternoon, following assurances by senior district administrative officials that the issue would be resolved soon.
The collection of toll charges could only resume after 3:30 pm. A large posse of police personnel was deployed at the DND after the incident to avert any further trouble with the BKU.
However, the BKU said it would continue its agitation against the monopoly of the concessionaire and would not rest till the flyway was made toll free for everyone.
“The DND Authority is charging toll arbitrarily and has been hiking the fee regularly. That is totally unjustified and unacceptable. Though the cost of the DND flyway has been recovered, they continue to charge toll. It is a public road and it should be made toll free.
We have given a memorandum to the UP Chief Minister last month requesting him to make the DND toll free. We have also asked the concessionaire to show us the copy of their agreement,” said Rakesh Tikait, General Secretary of the BKU.
When asked about the issue, district administration officials said as the matter was sub judice, both the BKU and the toll authority should wait for the verdict of the Allahabad High Court. Neither should the operator increase the toll charges nor should the BKU create a stir at the plaza.
Sanjay Chauhan, Noida City Magistrate said: “The situation has been brought under control and all those protesting at the DND flyway have been told to leave the plaza.”
However, the DND management has accepted three core demands of the BKU, including handing over the papers of the agreement, reviewing the recent hikes and depositing the increased amount collected between November 2012 to March 2013, in an account of the district administration so that the money could be spent on development work.
Expressing anger over the entire episode, the DND management said it was shocked by the move of the BKU. “It is totally illegal. We are fed-up with the frequent protests held by the BKU. We are collecting toll charges as per the agreement with the Noida Authority. The BKU should put its demands before the district administration instead of occupying the plaza,” said Anwar Abbasi, spokesperson of the DND flyway.