ALAPPUZHA: An unidentified vehicle rammed the toll booth set up on the newly inaugurated Alappuzha bypass near Kommady junction in the early hours of Friday, destroying it completely.“The incident happened around 5am. We suspect that the vehicle carrying wooden logs hit the booth. The booth was totally destroyed. We are examining the CCTV visuals on the NH to trace the vehicle,” an officer of the Alappuzha North police station said.
The bypass was inaugurated on Thursday, but the toll collection did not start. The Central government insists on toll collection, as it had spent Rs 174 crore of the Rs 348 crore cost. The state government had written to the Central government demanding to avoid toll collection on the bypass, but the Centre was not ready.
The National Highways Authority of India is also gearing up to collect toll from Kollam bypass. However, the toll collection was avoided on Kundannoor and Vyttila flyovers as the state had spent the entire cost of construction. The four bypasses on NH66 were completed during the current LDF government’s tenure.