BENGALURU: The collection of two-way toll enroute to and from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at the Devanahalli Toll Plaza, which was scheduled to begin from Tuesday midnight, has been put off for at least another day, according to officials of the Navayuga Devanahalli Toll Plaza Ltd, (NDTPL). The officials said that it could not be done due to various reasons.
Fee collection is to ensure that passengers do not use the tollway one-way and then avoid paying the toll by using the alternative route to the airport, which was inaugurated earlier this month. While earlier, toll collection was supposed to have started from midnight on Monday, it was put off by 24 hours in a late night decision and the same was repeated on Tuesday as well. “We have decided to start from midnight on Wednesday now and this is a confirmed date,” said Amarnath Reddy, Manager at the Devanahalli toll plaza. He did not answer why the delay was occurring.
However, sources in the police department said the company had applied for police protection expecting a clash with protesters and irate motorists once the toll collection restarted. Confirming this, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Kala Krishnaswamy said she had requested certain documents from the company to be attached with their request for protection which were yet to be submitted. “Once these documents are given, then we will take a decision on providing security,” she said.
Passengers who want to fly out of KIA will have to shell out `85 for a one way trip and `125 for a round trip. The move to collect toll on the way to the airport has been criticised by all stakeholders who said the average time taken to reach the airport would increase because of traffic jams. In order to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, NDTPL is planning to keep 15 toll lanes open towards the airport and also accept FASTag (cashless payment) at all lanes to speed up the process.