Protest Over NH Toll Collection Turns Violent in Thrissur, Minister Intervenes

Thrissur: Keralam PWD Minister P K Basheer on Thursday directed the District Collector to temporarily stop toll collection at the NHAI toll plaza in Nattika after a protest by the Congress-led UDF turned violent, with activists clashing with police. Basheer told reporters that work has not been completed on the NH-66 stretch.

"The work on the service road and approach road to the bridge has not been completed. The District Police Chief and District Collector have reported that there will be severe traffic blocks. So, we have directed NHAI to stop the collection temporarily," he said.

He said that a decision will be taken after hearing from all the stakeholders.

"The District Collector has been directed to call a meeting of all stakeholders and take a decision within a week," he said.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to start toll collection at Nattika on NH 66 from October 8.

However, UDF leaders alleged that toll collection had started without completing the works on the service road and pedestrian overbridges, officials said.

At around 7.30 am, the Congress and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) activists marched to the toll plaza before toll collection commenced.

When they attempted to block the toll plaza operations, police intervened, leading to an altercation, officials said.

Police arrested and removed some of the protesters.

However, more UDF leaders assembled at the site, alleging that some of the activists had been manhandled by police, officials said.

Officials said that some of the policemen were injured following the clash.

A large number of police personnel are currently deployed at the toll plaza to prevent any further violent protests, officials added.