Mangaluru: The Anti-Toll Gate Action Committee has demanded to clear the temporary tollgate near Surathkal or else has asked MLA and MP to resign.

Speaking to mediapersons at a private hotel in the City, committee leader Muneer Katipalla, said that Surathkal tollgate, which was started on a temporary basis for a period of six months, has been illegally collecting toll for the past seven years due to the irresponsibility of local MPs and MLAs.

The “Anti-Toll Gate Action Committee, Surathkal” has organised continuous protests demanding the removal of the temporary tollgate in Surathkal. He alleged that whenever the protests intensified, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLA Bharat Shetty tried to reduce the intensity of the protest by promising to close the toll gate, he said.

Muneer said, “In March, when the toll clearance agitation intensified, the MP had met Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi and claimed that the minister had instructed him to shift the Surathkal toll station to the interiors of the New Mangalore port. On March 22, thousands of people marched from Hejamady tollgate to Surathkal tollgate. On the same day, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced in the Lok Sabha that all toll collection points within 10 km distance would be cleared within 90 days. MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLA Bharath Shetty reiterated the same words in Mangaluru and promised the people of the District that within 90 days, the Surathkal toll plaza would be cleared. Due to this clear assurance, the protest was temporarily suspended.”

Wednesday June 22 marks the completion of 90 days, the Minister announced in the Lok Sabha. However, no steps have been taken so far regarding the removal of the temporary toll plaza in Surathkal, he rued.