Tipper Trucks Refuse Toll At Vedurupavuluru Gate, Traffic Disrupted
Eighteen tipper trucks refused to pay toll at Vedurupavuluru, briefly disrupting traffic before police fined each vehicle ₹10,000.
High drama unfolded at the Vedurupavuluru toll gate falling under Gannavaram mandal in Krishna district on Sunday when 18 empty tipper trucks refused to pay toll to cross it.
The truck drivers claimed that the vehicles belonged to Telugu Desam MLA from Denduluru, Chinthamaneni Prabhakar.
The vehicles from Chinthalapudi village of Denduluru mandal in Eluru district were proceeding to Kondapalli to get a load of wet mixture like stone chips and dust of construction material and come back to the village.
At about 3.30 pm, a tense situation emerged as the drivers engaged in heated arguments with the staff at the toll gate claiming that they need not pay the toll as the vehicles belonged to the TD MLA. There were 18 vehicles in total and nine have already reached the toll gate.
The staff refused to allow passage unless the toll was paid. With both the parties sticking to their stand and the tipper trucks parked near the toll gate, other vehicles had to be stopped at the toll gate. This created a serious situation.
The Gannavaram police rushed to the toll gate and cleared the vehicular traffic that remained halted on one side for about 15 to 20 minutes.
The police found that none of the tipper trucks and their drivers had any valid documents like driving licence, registration certificate and permit for transport of any material.
When the police questioned the drivers, they initially claimed that the vehicles belonged to the TD MLA but later claimed they said so to avoid paying the toll.
It was found that the vehicles were registered in the name of a firm represented by Suravarapu Jaya Krishna Ram.
The police slapped a fine of around `10,000 on each vehicle and instructed the drivers to go back to where they had come from.
Gannavaram circle inspector Siva Prasad said, “The drivers showed no documents. We issued a challan of `10,000 for each vehicle and did not allow them to pass through the toll gate as they have no permission to ply on the road without necessary documents.”