Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway: Toll gates forced open for half hour,45 held

On Friday,the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the police to ensure smooth toll operations and asked the police submit a report on Monday. The High Court direction came after expressway concessionaire DS Constructions approached it seeking smooth toll operations.

According to DS Constructions,the lanes for traffic towards Gurgaon were made free from 12.14 pm to 12.49 pm,and around 3,735 vehicles passed during the period. The company claimed to have incurred a loss of Rs,90,000. It also said around five boom barriers were damaged during the protest.

“There was a court order and so we asked the protesters not to hamper toll operations. But when they did,we arrested them. We were trying to negotiate with them,” said Abhey Rao DCP (West and Headquarters).

The protesters demanded that no toll be charged,or a 50 per cent discount be offered,to Gurgaon residents. The presence of two toll plazas on one road of a district is another point of protest.

The Sangharsh Samiti members also want underpasses,flyovers,side lanes and other facilities around the expressway.

A spokesperson for DS Constructions said the company has a right to collect toll,and the protest was against the spirit of the public-private partnership terms.

He said a decongestion plan is already in place and will be executed soon.

“The main causes of the congestion are the increase in traffic volume and the entry of cash users in the tag lanes,which hampers the vehicle processing rate. We have sent a proposal to the NHAI for expanding the Sirhaul toll plaza by adding 10-12 lanes on either side,in a staggered format. While we await approval on this,we have initiated work on adding three more lanes on both the toll plazas on the land available to us,” said the spokesperson.

The company said to prevent cash users from entering tag lanes,it has requested the traffic police to issue challans to the errant drivers.