We will not Tolerate the Drama of Navayug Company – Kota Srinivas Poojary
Udupi: “We are not ready to tolerate the drama of Navayug Company. They should give exemption in the toll fee for local vehicles (KA 20) at Sastan and Hejamady toll gates. If they fail to exempt local vehicles form the toll, we are ready to stop the Toll gate in Sastan”, said Opposition leader for legislative council Kota Srinivas Poojary.
He was speaking at a protest organised by the Rashtriya Heddari Jagruti Samiti Sastan against the collection of toll from local vehicles on September 20 at the Toll gate.
Addresing the protesters Kota Srinivas said, “Navayug has not completed the road widening work since eight years and the work done so far has been executed in an unscientific manner. The delay in work has caused many accidents and loss of lives on NH 66. We the peoples’ representatives had recently held a meeting at the DC office and urged the district administration and company officials not to allow collecting toll from local vehicles until the road widening work is completed. Without proper drains on the side of the highway has resulted in water-logging in many places. Service roads are also not constructed in many places”.
Kota Srinivas further said, “The Navayug company is collecting toll from the public. The Company should pay 2% of the toll collection to the local gram panchayat as tax but untill now not a single paisa has been paid to the gram pachayat. The construction of the overpass at Karavali Junction in Udupi and the flyover in Kundapur is still pending. The highway from Hejmady to Kundapur is in bad shape. Despite the pending work, the company is collecting toll from the public which is condemnable”, he said.
Various associations have supported the protest.
ZP member Raghavendra Kanchan; TP member Jyothi Uday Poojary; Pratap Shetty, president of the Rashtriya Heddari Jagriti Samiti; Vittal Poojary; Shyam Sundar; Govinda Poojary; Rajesh Kaveri; Moses Rodrigues and others were also present.