Toll hike will make life difficult

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It will cost you around Rs 100 to travel to Thrissur or Guruvayoor from Alappuzha by bus and the amount will be much lesser by train.

But a drive in one’s own vehicle can leave a hole in the pocket with fuel charges and hiked toll costing you at least Rs 670. The toll at Kumbalam has already been raised and another toll booth is coming up at Edappally from April 1.

The national highways wing of the state public works department has sent its notification to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to make a steep increase in the toll rates at Varapuzha Bridge and also impose toll collection at the newly-built railway overbridge at Edappally.

Local residents and two-wheeler riders have begun protests against the agencies that undertook the road works for not constructing service roads, bus bays and drainage as part of the project.

They also say that accident rates had gone up in such roads as the construction agencies had not put up any safety measures like street lights or signals on the highway even while collecting hefty toll, they alleged.

Over the last one year, 13 persons died in mishaps on the Angamaly-Edappaly stretch of the national highway.

The PWD toll waiver on the Chettuva and Kottapuram bridges along NH 17 is seen as an eyewash.
“They gave up the toll collection at Chettuva and Kottapuram only to increase the rate at Varappuzha and have a new one at Edappally,” says Ramesh R, a resident of Varapuzha.

As per the NHAI rules, only one toll is allowed on an 80 kilometres stretch. However, between Alappuzha and Thrissur or Alapuzha and Guruvayur, motorists have to pay toll at Kumbalam and Paliakkara or Kumbalam and Varapuzha.

It is because the projects were implemented by two different agencies, NHAI and a private company.