KOCHI: Tripunithura residents are much relieved as they don't have to pay a toll to use bridges in the town from Tuesday. As per the state government's decision, toll collection at two major bridges at S.N. Junction and Irumpanam will end on November 1. People in Tripunithura and those passing through the town were being taxed at three places - S.N. Junction, Irumpanam-Kakkanad Bridge on the Seaport-Airport Road and the mini bypass. No other town in the state had three toll-collecting bridges in such close vicinity.
Toll collection at mini bypass was withdrawn recently. The S.N Junction and Irumpanam bridges were constructed by the Roads and Bridges Corporation at a total cost of Rs 10.96 crore of which Rs 4.72 crore came collectively from Road Fund Board, District Administration and Kochi Refinery. The bridge at S.N Junction was completed in 2004 and toll collection was imposed soon after its commissioning. Later it was clubbed with the toll at Irumpanam on the Seaport-Airport Road.
The town witnessed a series of protests, legal fights and intervention of High Court and even Supreme Court on the issue of toll collection. The Roads and Bridges Corporation approached the apex court seeking permission to continue toll collection. Making Tripunithura toll-free was one of the major agenda on the LDF's election manifesto and the residents are upbeat over the immediate steps taken by the government and M. Swaraj MLA, who represents the constituency.
"Though the major topic during Assembly election campaigning was the toll collection, we never expected an immediate result," said V. T. Prasad, president of Tripunithura Residents Association. For years, residents had to bear the brunt of tolls at three entry points. It was TRURA which led the protests and submitted a series of memorandums to state government.
