Many motorists let off without paying toll as PWP protests

Navi Mumbai: The protest at the Kamothe toll plaza by the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) on Thursday morning was a boon as many vehicles were allowed to pass two plazas without paying any toll.
The city police had directed the Sion-Panvel Tollways Project Limited (SPTPL) to raise the barriers at all lanes at Kharghar and Kamothe till the protest ended. Thus, for the first day since the toll counters opened from January 6 midnight, there was no traffic snarl on the stretch near the plazas on the Sion-Panvel highway.
While PWP leaders had expected 5,000 workers from Raigad district to participate in the protest, only 1,500 turned up, including those from Uran and Panvel talukas. Shouting anti-state government slogans for reneging on its promise of dismantling the toll plazas, the protestors reached the Kamothe plaza at 11.45am.
PWP leaders, including former MLA Vivek Patil, MLC Jayant Patil and PWP district secretary Balaram Patil, lead the protestors. Jayant and Vivek attacked the BJP-led government and Panvel BJP MLA Prashant Thakur on the toll issue.
The agitation concluded at 1.30pm after the leaders handed over a memorandum to Panvel tehsildar Pawan Chandak in the presence of PWD executive engineer Ramesh Agawane and SPTPL representatives.
SPTPL resumed the toll collection amid police protection, and many of its private security guards were deployed at all lanes to ensure that motorists pay up without arguing.
Chandak said that the memorandum demanded that toll collection at Kharghar and Kamothe should be stopped.
The traffic police have suggested that the width of all lanes at the plaza should be uniform to avoid chaos and the boom barricades near the cabins should be removed to reduce clogging. SPTPL said it has taken many measures to ensure smooth flow of traffic.