CHANDIGARH: The farmers have warned if the rates at the toll plazas are increased in Punjab, thus putting the public to inconvenience, then they will again sit at the toll plazas and allow toll-free movement of all vehicles. The farmers are to lift the siege of toll plazas in Punjab on December 15.
After paying obeisance at Golden temple in Amritsar and being honoured by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Harinder Singh Lakhowal, General Secretary of Lakhowal Group) said that BKU leader Rakesh Tikait has warned that if the authorities or the managements of toll plazas increase the toll rates by about 40 per cent in Punjab on the ground that they suffered losses due to the fact that the farmers were sitting at the tolls for more than a year and allowed free movement of traffic, then again the farmers will sit on the toll plazas and will allow toll-free movement of all vehicles.
"If the rates of toll have to be increased then increase by 2 to 3 per cent as the government increases the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat by so much only why a sudden 40 per cent, this is not accepted at all,’’ said Lakhowal.
BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), Punjab, Secretary Shingara Singh Mann said that the farmers are still sitting on the toll plazas in Punjab and their organization has already warned that if the toll rates are increased by the authorities concerned then they will keep on sitting at these plazas till the rates are not reduced what they were earlier on as inconvenience to the public will not be tolerated.
Sources claimed that the toll tax rates have been revised on all toll plazas. It is still not clear as to from which date toll tax will get imposed as farmers of Punjab have decided to lift their dharnas on December 15.
Meanwhile, there was a traffic jam at Panipat Toll and Karnal Toll plazas. The commuters were stuck in traffic for hours.