Punjab: Toll On Muktsar-Kotkapura Highway Made Tax-Free. Here’s Why

Following protests by farmers, the toll on the Muktsar-Kotkapura Highway in Punjab has been made tax-free.

Chandigarh: The toll on the Muktasar-Kotkapura highway near Warring village in Punjab has now been made tax-free. This comes after farmers held protests to make the Muktasar-Kotkapura toll tax-free. Bharti Kisan Ekta Sidhupur Union farmers had reportedly held protests against the company which built the toll plaza on the Muktasar-Kotakpura highway.

The farmers alleged that the toll plaza company had fallen short of fulfilling its responsibilities, according to a report by Punjabi Tribune. The presidents of farmers’ union  – Sukhdev Singh and Jasvir Singh – claimed that there were “no credit/ debit card payment or FASTag (online toll tax payment) facilities available at the toll. The payments had to be made only in cash”.

The farmers and people from nearby villages had also claimed that the company had failed to repair the bridges built over Sirhind feeder and Rajasthan canals despite repeated requests. The company was interested with many other tasks such as building bus stations, water outlet systems for outflow of water during heavy rains and many others that it failed to do.

The people from nearby villages had expressed concerns that existing bridges over the above mentioned canals have been in need of repairs since long so that any irrevocable incidents can be prevented. Requests were made several times in the past and protests were held for the same but the company turned a deaf ear to their pleas, the report stated.  The farmers had also requested the state government to take strict measure against the company officials. They also demanded that other services including new bridges over the canals be made available to the people at the earliest.

Following several protests held by the farmers, the toll on the Muktasar-Kotakpura highway has been made tax-free to provide relief to the commuters.