At a time when the state government is mulling over introducing ‘user fee’ on KIIFB-funded projects, here’s a different story — a quirky one of toll evasion and a ‘multi-crore’ business.
The narrow road from Kumbalam Junction along the NH Bypass has been experiencing heavy traffic during peak hours as vehicles coming from Alappuzha side take a detour to evade the nearby toll booth.
Many of those who evade the toll booth are daily commuters. To avoid the ‘user fee’, they take a turn from the junction and head towards the Kumbalam boat jetty, and proceed to Madavana Junction on the NH.
This often leaves the interior roads of Kumbalam clogged and poses a traffic hazard to local residents.
Amid this chaos, two longtime buddies in the area found an opportunity to cash in on. Using their modest savings, they started ‘S J Lucky Centre’ – a lottery shop – a couple of years ago in Kumbalam village, about 3km from the Bypass.
Now, a tagline poster in front of their lottery shop attracts attention from toll-evading motorists. ‘Buy lottery with the money you saved by evading the toll. What if you win?,’ reads the banner placed in front of the shop, located at a small tri-junction.
“A lot of vehicles take these narrow roads. Many get confused about which road to take next as they reach this tri-junction. We got tired of giving directions to motorists. That’s when we thought of boosting our sales and the tagline,” says Saneesh M S, who owns outlet along with Jomon Joy.
And it has paid off — the tagline piques motorists’ curiosity, and draws in customers.
“We only wanted to spark curiosity among passing motorists. Now some of them who stop to ask for directions end up buying lottery tickets as well,” Saneesh adds. “Our sales have increased since putting up the banner six months ago.”
Not all local residents are as happy as the duo about the traffic influx. “The number of vehicles bypassing the toll plaza and plying through our narrow roads has gone up,” says Kumbalam West councillor Ajitha Sukumaran.
“This makes our roads dangerous. Heavy traffic also leads to faster deterioration of our roads.”
Kumbalam panchayat president K S Radhakrishnan notes that it is mostly car travellers coming from Aroor and heading towards Vytilla who take these interior routes to avoid the toll.
“Cars have to pay Rs 45. Toll exemption is granted only to Kumbalam residents, not to those from nearby Maradu. This forces many to travel via byroads,” he says.
“There are three different routes to bypass the toll plaza — one via School Junction, another through Kumbalam centre, and the third using the new Kumbalam-Nettoor Bridge. Some of the roads are narrow, which increases the risk of accidents. Since the area is heavily populated, acquiring land and widening the road is a major challenge.”
Residents, however, remain hopeful about a road-widening project, particularly with the long-pending Kumbalam-Thevara bridge project progressing now.