Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers call off sit-in, Ladhowal toll plaza operations resume after 15 months

Fifteen months after farmers laid siege to toll plazas to protest against the contentious farm laws, toll collection was finally resumed at the Ladhowal toll plaza on Thursday. The operations, which were scheduled to resume on December 15 after the government agreed to farmers’ demands, were stalled after Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU- Kadian) and Kirti Kisan Union members refused to lift the sit-in protest until the hiked toll prices were rolled back. Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) leader Santokh Singh Sekhon said the agitation was lifted after toll authorities agreed to the majority of their demands. “The company agreed to increase the wages of around 200 employees by 10%. They will remove speed breakers that were causing damage to tractor-trollies and heavily loaded trucks. A towing vehicle, and an ambulance will be deployed round-the-clock. They will also streamline the process to avail a monthly pass,” he said. The farmers, however, were not able to get the hike in toll prices and the scrapping of the multiple-visit systrem revoked. Sekhon said, “These issues are pending and will be worked out following a meeting with the surface transport ministry.”A toll plaza official, Shiv Raj, said the discussion was held in an amicable environment, after which protesting farmers agreed to vacate the toll plaza.NHAI project director Virendra Singh said, “We explained to the union leaders that the prices had not been increased, rather they have been adjusted as per the wholesale price index (WPI). An advertisement in this regard was also published in leading daily newspapers in September.”The National Highway Authority of India earns around ₹50 lakh a day from the Ladhowal Toll Plaza alone, and has suffered a loss of around ₹200 crore over the last 15 months.

Hindustan Times

31-12-2021

Chandigarh