Strongly condemning the union govt for installing two additional Toll Plazas in Jammu on the National Highway from Lakhanpur to Jammu and proposal for establishing another two such plazas, one at Fallan Mandal on the Ring road and another on Akhnoor road, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and former Minister said that the move was fraught with dangerous portends. He said that people of Jammu were wary of even the existing Toll Plazas at Ban and Saror which were taxing them heavily in addition to another one at Nashri. There were several protests against the Ban Toll Plaza and Saror Toll Plaza in Jammu and elsewhere with people cutting across party lines seeking the disbanding of the said Plazas whose rates were amongst the highest in the country. The people were seeking disbanding these Toll Plazas with BJP leadership cheating them by false assurances. It was however disturbing to note that rather than shutting down Ban Toll and Saror Toll, the GoI had embarked upon the construction two additional Toll Plazas in Jammu which had sparked massive outrage. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Describing the proposed operation of six Toll Plazas in close proxity of Jammu as an act of organized and institutionalized loot, Mr. Singh cautioned to launch an agitation in case the decision to install new Toll Plazas was not revoked at the earliest. He said that such huge taxation in the form of multiple Toll Plazas was simply unaffordable for the common masses and particularly those who had to commute on regular basis between Jammu, Katra, Udhampur, Samba, Marh and Lakhanpur. Further they constituted the most menacing threat to the pockets of students, labourers, farmers and other economically weaker sections of society. With pilgrims and tourists also having to pay toll at six different locations in the vicinity of Jammu alone, the business and tourism of the region was also likely to be adversely impacted. He said that the traders, transporters and other private operators had also expressed their concern over the issue which had the potential to explode in a big way. He said that the situation in J&K was already very sensitive and the govt. move of imposing such ‘Jazia’ would have the effect of adding fuel to fire.
Lambasting the BJP for its criminal silence towards the grave issue of public importance, Mr. Singh said that it would have to account for such anti-people policies in the form of increased toll, taxation, ever increasing petrol and diesel prices and enhanced fines as implemented under the new Motor Vehicles Act as well.Mrs. Manju Singh, General Secretary, Mr. Surinder Chouhan, District Jammu (Rural) & Mrs. Anita Choudhary, Secretary-Women Wing were also present in the press conference.