THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local residents and motorists are irked over move to collect toll at NH66 bypass from Kazhakoottam to Kovalam which was about to start at Thiruvallam from the first week of August.
They demanded that toll collection should start after opening the entire 43 kilometre stretch to Karode near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border for traffic.
The construction of toll plaza is almost complete and only the final works are pending. According to motorists who frequently travel through the stretch, levying toll fee without opening the road from Kovalam junction to Karode is not fair.
“The road starting from Kovalam to Mukkola which was completed two years ago has not yet been opened, while the construction of the new stretch from Mukkola to Kaorde is under way. The development of this stretch is getting delayed like anything. So the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should concentrate on completing the construction of the entire bypass stretch before going ahead with toll collection. Now, the toll fee about to be collected from Kazhakoottam to Kovalam will affect only the travellers coming from Kovalam or those who wish to go to Kovalam side from the city,” said Aneesh Raj, a local resident and daily commuter of the stretch.
The residents said that many people can also skip the toll gate reaching Vazhamuttom near Kovalam by using the Thiruvallam-Pachalloor road and other byroads.
However, the NHAI did not finalise the agency for toll collection as the construction of toll plaza is yet to be completed.
At present, two agencies have reportedly submitted the bid. The selected agency will decide the rate of the toll.
“We will collect the toll only from the travellers using the road from Kazhakoottam to Kovalam. There is no logic in the perception that toll collection can be initiated only after completing the entire stretch from Kazhakoottam to Karode. We will not cause any inconvenience to the passengers using the stretch. We are not focusing on completing the toll plaza by the first week of August,” said P Pradeep, project director, NHAI. The toll plaza coming up here is the only one along the Kazhakoottam-Mukkola stretch.
The completion of Mukkola-Karode stretch is likely to be delayed due to scarcity of labourers and the demand of locals to build a service road near Thirupuram.
The NHAI had initially planned to set up a toll plaza at Akkulam but was later shifted to Thiruvallam at the request of the state government.
The request was that since it is located in the cyber corridor of the city, techies and daily commuters will be affected.
However, a feasibility study by the National Transport and Research Centre (NATPAC) had pointed out the possibility of people using the road via Thiruvallam, Pachalloor and Vazhamuttom to skip the toll payment.