Shiv Sena terms collection of toll as illegal in Jammu region
Stop toll collection till repair, expansion work continues: Sahni
JAMMU: Shiv Sena Jammu and Kashmir unit today demanded no collection of toll on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway till the construction and repair works of widening will be completed.
Addressing media persons here today at the Party’s state office, Manish Sahni, President J&K Shiv Sena said that after making Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory, toll plazas are being imposed forcibly on the people of the state. He said that the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway is in a dilapidated condition for the last some time. After every two to five kilometers, construction and repair works are going on, due to which the condition of the road remains pathetic, he said, adding that the motorists and people living on the roadside are facing a lot of problems.
Sahni said that in exchange for the facilities of better roads, toll is collected from the public and still the roads are not improved, terming the collection of toll is illegal. He questioned the distance between Sarore and Ban Toll Plaza, saying a norm of minimum distance of 60 km between the two toll plazas has been violated deliberately in Jammu region.
Sahni demanded the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and the National Highway Authority should reduce the number of toll plazas on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway and stop collection of toll at Lakhanpur, Sarore and Ban toll plazas until the repair and expansion work continues.
At the same time, he also said that toll should not be collected from the devotees from outside states coming to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi on religious pilgrimage.