Kochi: The police on Monday seized eight private buses plying on the Ernakulam-Aroor section when their staff refused to pay the 'hiked' toll charges at the Kumbalam toll plaza.
More drama followed later in the day when the bus workers' unions called for a one-day strike in the Vytilla-Aroor-Cherthala section on Tuesday but the same was withdrawn following a meet convened by collector MG Rajamanickam in which Minister K Babu and top police officers attended.
The issue has been building up ever since the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) entrusted a new company, Ms K Kumararaja Project Pvt Ltd, with the task of toll collection two months ago.
“The toll charged at Kumbalam Plaza is nearly four times higher than that at Paliyekkara. Here, they charge Rs 90 per day and Rs 1,800 per month against Rs 17.50 and Rs 525 charged at Thrissur.
We’ve been demanding a reduction in toll charges for a long time and had even submitted memorandums to the district collector,” said K S Rajan, District Secretary, Bus Operators' Organisation.
The earlier contractor had been lenient and collected a lower amount, but the new one was adamant that the private buses dole out the full toll charges as fixed by the NHAI.
The trouble started on Monday morning when the company's staff blocked buses that were refusing to pay the toll charge in full. “We’ve seized eight buses and registered cases against 16 private bus crew members,” said Sreekumar M B, Sub Inspector, Panangad.
However, cops agreed to release the buses following the meet in which the collector assured the bus workers that a “justifiable” toll charge would be worked out in a week’s time.
