Jammu, Aug 20: Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded immediate suspension of collection of the toll at Sarore Toll Plaza to provide relief to the commuters plying vehicles on the National Highway.
BJP vice-president and former minister Surjeet Singh Salathia raised this demand while addressing a press conference at party headquarters here. He said that the people should not be made to suffer as the highway road was in very bad condition.
He was accompanied by BJP general secretary Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, former minister Chander Parkash Ganga and party spokesperson Y V Sharma.
Salathia said that the condition of the NHAI road was in dilapidated condition and needed immediate repair.
He said, “The service lines too are not in good condition. Travelling through the National Highway and the service lines has become time consuming and the commuters are facing problems while covering even small distances. Earlier, one could cover 30 kilometres distance in just half an hour. But now the same distance is being covered in 2-3 hours, thus causing inconvenience to the people.”
“For what should people pay when there is no proper road facility,” he questioned?
Salathia shared that the BJP had already taken up the matter with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Lok Sabha MP Jugal Kishore Sharma too had written a letter to the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari appealing to look into the matter, which needed immediate intervention.
Salathia said that the BJP always stood with the general public and worked towards mitigating their sufferings. He assured that every effort would be made by the party to ensure that the people should get a quality road network. He expressed hope that the NHAI would take a decision to immediately suspend the operation of Sarore Toll Plaza.
Dr Manyal said that people were facing many problems due to the present condition of roads and still people were made to pay the toll, which was not justified at this juncture. “The NHAI should provide alternate safe and smooth roads to the public, which is a mandatory condition in all the tender works of the roads. Whenever there is construction of a new road, the contractor or company is bound to provide this facility, which is not provided in this case. The NHAI should make sure smooth roadways and then only charge the tax at the Plaza,” he said.
Chander Parkash Ganga said that the same matter was also taken up by him three months ago through a letter addressed to Union Minister of State V K Singh.