Sirhaul toll plaza: Protest threat on toll refund

GURGAON: Unable to claim the refundable money on their now unusable smart tags, the Manesar Industrial Welfare Association (MIWA) is planning to stage a protest against the former e-way concessionaire next week.
According to members of the association, most commuters haven't yet received the 'security refund' on their smart tags, even though it has been over a month since the Sirhaul toll plaza was scrapped, and the concessionaire, DGSCL, was let off."MIWA is set to stage a protest in front of the DS Constructions offices in Gurgaon if they do not stop harassing the general public," the association said in a statement.
According to MIWA president, Manmohan Gaind, the smart tags refund money comes down to around Rs 1,200 a head. "Several people in Manesar are affected by this. If they don't return the money within a week, we will carry out a protest," he said.
He added that commuters can't use their old smart tags at the Kherki Dhaula toll plaza near IMT Manesar. "The new concessionaire doesn't recognize the old tags. We were told to get our refund from the erstwhile concessionaire. If a fixed date for the refund is not announced within one week, we will protest, and take the matter to court," said Gaind.
According to Arun Popli, a local industrialist, this has added to the burden of increased toll rates that commuters bound for Manesar are now having to pay. "Already we are facing the brunt of the revised toll rates, which has almost doubled our toll expenses. Now these people are harassing us unnecessarily," he said.